Can You Hear Me Now?

Sandie hates the fact that I can't get messages on the cell phone, but I can take pictures with it and send them to another phone or e-mail the images.
I snapped this severe storm approaching Chattanooga last night from the intersection of Mountain Creek and Signal Mountain Road. This storm had already pushed over some trees in Marion County to the west.
As of this morning rainfall in Chattanooga is 1.92" above normal for August, and 6.30" above since June 1st. Tropical systems "Cindy" and "Dennis" helped boost our summer rainfall this year.
But if you were to hop on a boat at Ross's Landing and head downstream you would see a vastly different scene. The Tennessee River dumps into the Ohio River near Paducah where the water levels are down. Wayyyyyyyyyyy down. In Metropolis, Illinois the casino boat had to close for two days recently because of low water levels. Barges have been hitting bottom in both the Mississippi and Ohio rivers lately. Some grounding in less than 8 feet of water. In parts of Northern Illinois like Chicago, this summer has been drier than the infamous drought year of 1988.
I was working in Southern Illinois at the time and I remember covering the dredging operations on the Ohio. Workers were attempting to deepen the channel enough to keep the river traffic moving. Similar attempts were ongoing on the mighty Mississippi near St. Louis. But it was a losing battle on the Ohio. No barge traffic meant wheat which was being harvested couldn't get out to market. And once the elevators at Mound City, Illinois were full the grain was simply dumped on the streets. Plywood walls were set up on the curbs and the grain filled the streets up to the top. The video I shot ended up on "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings".
After nearly two full months without any measurable rainfall, the breaking story one night was tape I shot of a minor miracle. Water falling from the sky. Drops hitting the cracked earth of a devasted cornfield north of Harrisburg, Illinois. I can still see the first ones striking the ground causing tiny clouds of dust to rise up. Ever since then I have never cursed rain. I had seen people really praying for rain as I'm sure they are doing in parts of the Midwest today. And they are probably asking, "Can you hear me now?"