Flood Stage Question

[Tony B]

Starting tomorrow, there will be the perfect 'travel by water' weather for at least a week straight.
Problem: Most of the rivers, locks and dams, etc are or will be 4 feet or more above flood stage due to the storms of a few days ago. Not only will I be fighting river currents, but the floating logs will be out again.

The water level went from a normal level of 13', to above flood stage at 34' in just a few days.
I know this is a record 'crazy weather' year but I don't know what normal is for the Tenn-Tom.

Is this the norm for the Tenn-Tom, like up and down all year?
Should I wait it out till end of next week when water might be down again?
Or does this go on all summer long?

I don't know whether to delay my trip, AGAIN, or just take my chances.

 

[BandB]

Starting tomorrow, there will be the perfect 'travel by water' weather for at least a week straight.
Problem: Most of the rivers, locks and dams, etc are or will be 4 feet or more above flood stage due to the storms of a few days ago. Not only will I be fighting river currents, but the floating logs will be out again.

The water level went from a normal level of 13', to above flood stage at 34' in just a few days.
I know this is a record 'crazy weather' year but I don't know what normal is for the Tenn-Tom.

Is this the norm for the Tenn-Tom, like up and down all year?
Should I wait it out till end of next week when water might be down again?
Or does this go on all summer long?

I don't know whether to delay my trip, AGAIN, or just take my chances.

Definitely not normal for the Tenn Tom. If you want more information on the conditions, you might give some of the lockmasters calls. I don't know how messy it's gotten since it just went through this.

 

[Captain K]

This is definitely not normal, and no, it does not go on all summer. With flooding the way it is at the moment, I'd stay put for as long as it takes for the flood to subside.

 

[Tony B]

Thanks for the info guys.
I received a phone call from a member on a different forum. He lives upriver about 180 miles and says dont even try it. I didn't realize how bad Mobile was it. Looks like we are stuck here for another 2 weeks.

 

[Capn Craig]

I have never been on the TennTom but some things I learned about Flood Stage on the Mississippi River. In 2011 my boat that I bought in Nashville was floating in Murray Kentucky. I had run it there after my purchase to live until I could make plans to run it home to Iowa. 2011 was a year of epic floods on the Mississippi. After delays for late April, Early May and late May, due to high water. I decided to go for it facing a prediction that the Mississippi would remain above flood stage for the remainder of the summer. I didn't see anything that would scare me off until I rounded the corner at Cairo Illinois and headed up the Mississippi. The Ohio river was fairly placid going downstream. I had called ahead and was told that the Mississippi was running at a 10 MPH current. And I didn't believe it since I lived along the Mississippi and had experienced several floods in the past. I had experienced floods and certainly I had never seen that. The first hint of what was to come came came within a mile of turning upstream at Cairo. I was running along at what felt like 10 MPHG when I turned into the Miss and realized that I was standing in place against the current. I spotted the first buoy after rounding the bend into the Mississippi and looked again a minute later to discover the buoy had disappeared. I realized slowly that the current had pulled the buoy down. It reappeared after several minutes, while I was essentially in the same place. Two weeks later I arrived at home 487 miles later. I bent both props in route. I realize I was very lucky. There is no help available for the first 250 miles of the trip. The Mississippi is a very commercial river with zero rec boat facilities below St. Louis. I was very lucky to have made it. Moral to the story respect the Mississippi.

I would assume that the TennTom is placid by comparison but the gift of retirement is not having a schedule. Take advantage of that and have a good steak and say we are leaving tomorrow or maybe the day after that.