I think I finally figured out the difference between me and 99% of the rest of the people out there. I read the following warning this morning on the National Weather Service website...
FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA
910 AM PST SUN JAN 9 2005
...FLOOD WARNING FOR THE TULARE COUNTY FOOTHILLS AND MOUNTAINS BELOW 7000 FEET...UNTIL 900 PM PST THIS EVENING..
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HANFORD HAS ISSUED A FLOOD WARNING FOR THE TULARE COUNTY MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS UNTIL 900 PM PST THIS EVENING. SPECIFIC AREAS WHERE FLOODING IS LIKELY TODAY ARE ALONG THE KAWEAH RIVER...INCLUDING THE COMMUNITIES OF LODGEPOLE...THREE RIVERS AND LEMONCOVE. OTHER AREAS WHERE FLOODING IS A PRIMARY CONCERN TODAY ARE DOWNSTREAM LOCATIONS ALONG THE TULE RIVER AND THE WHITE RIVER NEAR DUCOR.
THE COMBINATION OF RAIN...MILDER TEMPERATURES...AND MELTING SNOW WILL CAUSE MANY SMALL STREAMS AND RIVERS TO FLOOD OUT OF THEIR BANKS TODAY. ADDITIONAL RAIN AND CONTINUED SNOWMELT WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE FURTHER RISES ALONG AREA STREAMS AND RIVERS THROUGH THIS EVENING WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF DEBRIS FLOWS AND ROAD WASHOUTS.
PERSONS LIVING NEAR AND ALONG THE KAWEAH AND TULE RIVERS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR AREA STREAMS AND RIVERS AND PREPARE TO MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND WHEN FLOOD WATERS THREATEN YOUR COMMUNITY.
THIS IS A SERIOUS SITUATION. RESIDENTS SHOULD HEED THE ADVICE OF EMERGENCY OFFICIALS IF AND WHEN EVACUATION ORDERS ARE ISSUED. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADS AS THE WATER IS OFTEN DEEPER THAN IT APPEARS.
...Whereas most people would stay inside and keep a close eye on the weather from the comfort of their house, my first thought was, "Cool! I bet there are a lot of great photo ops out there in the Tule River Canyon today!" So off I went with my camera
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