The tornadic storms last night did miss us by about 20 miles and there was one that hit the ground across the Mississippi River but did little damage. It was worrisome as, when in a trailer the visibility was not good, and the territory is unfamiliar, having a shelter to go to was good advice by the camp manager. We did not need that, and that was fortunate.
The sky was foreboding, the winds tolerable at 30 mph, and the rains ended up being average .The weather map (see), did show the affected areas and two huge cumulonimbus clouds that went both south of us and just north of us heading east. (See photos)
 |
| The temperature (75F) at 6:00 PM . By morning it was 36 F. |
 |
| A few of the clouds that formed. Formng stage of cumulus mammatus. |
 |
| The tornado zone in orange, we were at Portageville (top) |
 |
| A better view of the tornado zone (lower) and at our camp at Portageville. (upper) | |
|
|
 |
| More of the storm clouds passing over. |
|
|
|
But by morning all had gone and we were in sunshine albeit quite cold. We were on the road again by 9:30 AM and heading south on I-55, I-40 and I-30 to get to Arkadelphia AR. The lasttwo days we ate ur lunch in the trailer to expedite time.
This definitely is cotton country as we saw mile after mile of fields pf cotton and with Arkansas ranked 4th behind TX,MS, GA in bales produced in 2017. Arkansas produces these main crops in the field: Corn, Sorghum, Soybeans, Rice and Peanuts. With rice they rotate soybeans two years after the rice, Some do a one year rotation. With cotton, the problem is often with the moisture distribution, so both sorghum and wheat are the odd year plantings. If the grower cannot make enough cash from that then they would plant the cotton two years in a row. Wise use of water (irrigation) is a key. Some are trying the planting of alternate rows of sorghum and cotton and that seems to yield better results of the long haul. (I KNEW YOU WOULD LOVE THAT INFO!)
 |
| Some of the bright green along the road in Arkansas. |
 |
| Many shades of green in the trees leafing on the roadsides. |
One of the outstanding features of this drive through Central Arkansas was the myriad colors and shades of green that were seen . From brilliant "neon" green to a very delicate, soft, hazy green. The hills are forested and few towns can be seen from the highway. Along this route one stretch was 40 miles between crossing highways of any consequence and no habitation. And although for 150 miles, there was only one barnyard with cattle, some must have been still inside with the cold nights that they have had. (Cold for AR). Arkansas is a gently rolling land in the south central Ouchita "mountains" which is the area surrounding Arkadelphia. That city is centered on education (three colleges) and manufacturing. It s a city of only 10,000, and busy with tourism in the summer. The name is believed to possibly have come from the frequent rains that cause many rainbows. Hence the 'arc' (Ark) of the rainbow and 'delphia' which means 'brother place'.
 |
| The campsite near Arkadelpha, AR (3 miles from town) |
We have seen more birds each day with 11, 13, 17 each day so far. A flock of White faced Ibis was the rarest thus far, and that is at 60 mph, except for campgrounds. We also saw more than 10 hawks each day.
Tomorrow we head for central TX and a possible stop at a Chiro for Ruth to get that rib placed back. (chronic.) Original plan was for Buffalo, TX, but we may head right for Hempstead and the D.C.
So, a sunny day still holding at 57F and good weather predicted for tomorrow.
Thanks for reading along and the days will get more interesting as we move along.
No comments:
Post a Comment