Weather tops '09 headlines

Needless to say 2009 will go down in local history as a year dominated by weather news. The once-in-a-century ice storm of late January and early February ushered in the year with a vengeance. The following months brought with them flooding, and a much wetter-than-average summer. In fact, new rainfall records were posted for many months, and for the entire year, based on the National Weather Service's 30-year averages.

The weather pattern accounted for a miserable year for producers as some fields had to be replanted several times due to flooding. Once crops did mature, more rain brought flooded fields and conditions that would not allow them to be harvested.

When conditions did improve, or a producer ran out of patience, harvesting in wet conditions left fields ragged and rutted. Meanwhile, equipment suffered from the extra strain.

As the year began to draw to a close, and Northeast Arkansas residents looked forward to the possibility of a white Christmas, another round of flooding visited the region. And instead of a white Christmas, rains closed roads and hampered travel. That was followed by high winds and cold conditions -- the perfect end to a year most will be glad to see over.

But if we remain optimistic we should be able to find some positives from 2009 and some valuable lessons for the years to come. Actually, we may not learn a lot from the wet weather but there's a lot to be learned from the ice storm and how people responded.

The ice storm provided a great education for our leadership. It came upon the region with little notice, much like an earthquake, and disrupted nearly every facet of our lives. Simple things became difficult, others impossible, it was a humbling experience.

But from that experience we found out who was prepared, and who was not. It was also a good chance to see people at their best as volunteers joined local responders to provide what was needed. Family helped family, friend helped friend and strangers helped strangers. It was a perfect illustration of what can be accomplished by ordinary folks under extraordinary circumstances, a definition I've always heard used to describe a hero.

Everyone has their ice storm stories, and memories, to share. The dark days without electric, cable, Internet and such luxuries forced families to spend time together and actually talk. There were memories forged those weeks that could never have been possible without the ice storm.

Civic leaders also got a good lesson in preparedness, although I'm sure they would have accepted a less difficult test. It gave them new perspective in planning for future emergencies, something they never would have had without the ice storm.

Although the cost was monumental, the ice storm also forced area utility companies to upgrade almost all their infrastructure. You can be assured that nearly every power pole in Clay County is new, or at least was hardy enough to withstand the ice storm. The storm also revealed weaknesses in residential service lines that may have gone un-noticed until they caused problems.

In general the storm brought out the best in our leadership, as local, regional and state officials stepped-up and took care of the people that put them in office. Actually, I feel that it brought out the best in all of us.

As for the wet weather of the remainder of the year, I'm still trying to find something positive about that.