Gully Washer

Good golly, it’s a gully washer!

Lately it seems that this slang term for a sudden cloudburst (and the inevitable inundation that follows) has come up in more conversations than not. Sooo many gulley washers…

Here’s what this afternoon’s installment looked like from the screen porch as I watched, concerned that all of the site work Bob, Phil, and Erik undertook during the last two days might get washed away.

Startlingly close lightning and thunder claps; driving rain that pounded Rosslyn’s roofs, walls, and windows; and such a massive volume of water that the ground couldn’t begin to absorb it. This, is a proverbial hilly washer.

gully washer (noun)

an extremely heavy fall of rain usually of short duration : CLOUDBURST

(Source: Merriam-Webster)

Aftermath

When the worst of the thunderstorm passed and the rain abated, I headed out to the icehouse to inspect the impact of the storm.

As you can see, in these photographs, there was a lot of standing water. Swampy ponds everywhere.

But once the water is absorbed into the ground, I’m relieved to report that the fresh grading and topsoiling faired remarkably well. Sure, so one minor erosion, but no major washouts.

And barring another gulley washer this weekend, I’m optimistic that some taking on Monday morning will allow us to proceed with hydroseeding.

So I’m practicing my sun dance…