Photos from a storm

Yeah yeah, you’ve seen lots of rain pictures. I was going to write a serious policy piece as my first post, but well, then it rained and it was more fun to go watch. Here are a few pics from E Dayton St and  N Blair St, along with some history about this part of the isthmus.

First, it rained. This is the 600 block of E Dayton, looking towards Blair and the Capitol.

Heavy Rain on E Dayton St

In between the first wave and the second wave of rain, my neighbor had the good sense to move his car a few feet away from the curb, again on E Dayton:

A man checking out his car in the flood

Not everyone did. I figured, it had stopped raining, and I looked at the water line and decided that I’d be OK:

Cars in standing water

Turned out I should have looked at the radar, because the second act was coming:

More Rain falling

When it finally stopped, this was the intersection of Blair and Dayton:

N Blair St and E Dayton St intersection, flooded, 6/21/2010

The storm sewers were so overwhelmed that they were actually releasing water, not draining it away:

Storm Sewer billowing water

Some cars drove through, but most had the good sense to turn around. The one-way sign was optional for a bit.

Cars turning around on Blair St

It was a lot of water:

Two guys in walking in the floodwater at N Blair St and E Dayton, 6/21/2010

E Dayton St after the rainstorm, 6/21/2010

On the other end block, at  E Dayton and N Blount, a few years ago the city upgraded the stormsewers and drains, and they were doing much better at keeping up.

Storm drain at E Dayton St and N Blount St, 6/21/2010 rainstorm

As it turns out, this area is one of, if not the, lowest parts of the isthmus, and has always flooded.  As a result, historically it was one of the less-desirable parts of town. That’s part of why this marker is on my block:

Madison Heritage Marker: Here was Madison's first African-American neighborhood

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