Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1900 — When The Weather Changed Ends. [ARTICLE]

When The Weather Changed Ends.

The. conditions were just in shape here, Monday night, had the weather not suddenly changed, for higher water in the river than even the oldest inhabitant ever witnessed. The great snow of Feb. 28th, 16 to 20 inches of rather wet snow, fell on frozen ground which could not absorb and hold it back when it melted. Four days of slowly thawing weather had settled this to half its thickness. Ou top of this came Monday, several inches of hail-like snow, very heavy and full of water. This gradually changed to rain, Mpnday afternoons and it came harder and harder and warmer and warmer and the snow and sleet melted at a marvelous rate This continued until 3or 4 o’clock, Tuesday morning. At that time thn snow and sleet was everywhere in a condition of slush, and between the ridges of snow ponds and pools of water. It was like the whole land was covered with 5 or 6 inches of water, waiting for thegflood gates to be opened to begin to rush downward to the sea. ■ And with a few m6re hours of weather like nearly all of Monday night was, the flood gates would have opened sure enough. But just as the point was reached when the soaked and melting snow would hold no more, and when the pent up ponds and pools would soon begin to break loose, the wind suddenly changed to the northward. The rain ceased to fall and the snow stopped melting and went to freezing, and the dan ger of a record breaking high-water was over.