Supermegaclusterfuck?

What’s the word for when there’s a global pandemic and then a flood happens? “Clusterfuck” doesn’t seem to do it justice.

Last week, the National Weather Service predicted moderate flooding along much of the Mississippi, with major flooding likely in Iowa and Illinois. In Louisiana, the weather service expects moderate flooding along the river from Arkansas to LaPlace, where the Bonnet Carre Spillway can be used to divert floodwater into Lake Pontchartrain.

That was five days ago, here, in the Times-Picayune—a New Orleans newspaper.

Meanwhile in Ohio…

This Twitter thread from Anne Jefferson of Kent University documents some heavy rainfall measurements and high stage on the Cuyahoga River. FEMA designated it a 1 in 100 year flood. Thankfully damage seems to have been limited to a few stranded cars. But what next for the Mississippi River / Great Lakes swath of the United States?

Major to moderate flooding is likely in 23 states from the Northern Plains south to the Gulf Coast, with the most significant flood potential in parts of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

That’s from NOAA’s Spring Outlook, published last week.

Supermegaclusterfuck could be coming soon…