My Mom's neighborhood in Lowell had to be evacuated, and she and my brother are staying at my place on the other side of town. Magmak1 and Brookie, are you guys ok? I heard your towns got slammed as well.

Thanks for asking, Rox... we are fine... I live high above the Merrimack, though close to it, so drainage is always an issue.... am fine now, and dry inside... though the yard is a pond...

We had a series of "French drains" installed in the complex over the years which feed a creek that drains into the river...

My daughter lives in Lowell, and she says her basement is a wee bit wet...

I don't know about Brookie or whether the fish have a communications system that will recognize him without his rod and reel...

but I hope he's okay too....

This will be relatively minor and painless, but I am downloading blueprints for an ark just in case...

Hi Rox, I am in Salem but my home is okay. Two of my employees had bad floods, one lives in Marblehead and the other in Peabody. Route 1 South is blocked. My dog's hydrotherapy appointment in North Andover was cancelled because the place was flooded.

How are you?

We'll say some extra prayers for everyone's safety and hope that it dries out soon!

Ha ha. I will email you a picture of my brookie stream as it was yesterday. Good to hear Rox's family is ok. My aunt had recently been in the nursing home that had to be evacuated--she left a few weeks ago fortunately.

Smartcor----I didn't know you were from Essex County. Not much good drainage in Peabody anymore.

ps magmak does your daughter go to UMASS-Lowell? That's where I went to grad school.

Good to hear from you, Brookie, and I'm glad you're ok. My mom and brother were able to go home last night, and the flood waters didn't reach their house. The neighborhood had been evacuated as a precaution, because the section closest to the river did get partly flooded out.

No, Rox, my daughter went to Haverhill High, UMaine (BA in Sociology, minor in fast-pitch softball), then Adelphi (master's in sports administration), just earned her teaching certificate at Salem State, played pro ball in Lowell, and teaches in the Lawrence public schools. But she lives in Lowell.... home of Paul Tsongas.... (wonder what he'd have to say if he were alive today?!).

Hopefully everyone is drying out as the waters recede. We weren't affected (thank you very much).

That's right Magmak, Peabody is in terrible shape. We were really spared here in Salem. I'm glad you an your family are okay.

Sandra, after what you've been through....

Some of us are a little soggy, and some have been inconvenienced, and no doubt some have lost something of great value....

but this isn't even close to what happened to you all.

But thanks for thinking of us....

Yes, Peabody has some low points downtown, and here in the Valley, the Spicket, the Shawsheen and other little feeder rivers are always severely stressed... the Merrimack itself has some troublesome areas where it gets wide and flat and, up here (down river), it becomes an estuary fighting the tides while it tries to handle the rain run-off from as far north as the White Mountains....

but the rain has stopped....

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers, Sandra. We're mostly fine up here. The flooding was nothing even close to what your area suffered from Katrina.

The Merrimack River still looks like an angry slice of whitewater rapids in the areas where I most often see it. (near the 90 degree bend in Lowell) But it's dropped several feet, and is no longer considered a danger. Unfortunately, I hear we are due for more rain tonight. But it's not supposed to be sufficient to pose a further threat. I saw on the news last night where some areas of Lawrence are still under a couple of feet of water, and unpassable by car. That's a tough break for a city where so many struggle with poverty. I heard they are becoming more confident that the local dams will hold, now that the water levels are starting to drop.

today it has been raining for almost 3 days a lot of it drenching. not flooding yet --it wouldnt take much. I was in Haverhill & Geogetown. Pretty wet in Georgetown, but I didnt see roads washed out

Yeah, we really don't need any more rain around here for a while. It would be nice if Mother Nature would give the rivers and streams a chance to go down a bit more before socking us with more water.

Send the floods here and we'll try to send you sunny weather1

I wish it was possible to do a temporary weather trade. But I wouldn't care for the intense heat you get out there in AZ.