Both Sides Now: Air and Water Show

Anyone who knows me from Chicago knows that my favorite days each year are the annual Air & Water show on the lakefront. For two days modern technical achievements are showcased both in the water and overhead.

Sadly, this year I missed the Air & Water Show for the first time in more than a decade. But it seems that Mother Nature had her own air and water show in store!

While staying in southern Israel, I had the opportunity to spend two days camping and hiking in a remote region of the Negev Desert. Luckily I was with a former Ranger who is an expert on the Negev.

Late on the first afternoon, we were hiking through this pass on our way back to camp:

Suddenly, there was lightening in the distance. Then the air temperature dropped by about 20 degrees almost instantly -- being a good Midwestern girl, I knew what was coming. Average precipitation in the Negev in October is less than ¼ of an inch. Obviously, this was going to be an above average day! It quickly got darker, and colder. Then the rain started. By the time we made it back to camp (and the truck), I was completely soaked! Then Mother Nature’s air show began.

I spent more than thirty minutes mesmerized by the lightening storm overhead.

Sometimes the sky lit up so brightly, it looked almost like daytime!

Then, over the sound of rain and thunder, another sound started to resonate. . . the sound of rushing water. We turned on the lights of the truck and found a small stream flowing through the campground -- the “water” portion of the show!

A flash flood is the rapid flooding of low-lying areas often caused by heavy rains. A flash flood differs from a regular flood in that it occurs in less than six hours. Flash floods are extremely dangerous because people tend to underestimate the speed and power of the rushing water – even a car offers little protection. Less than two feet of water can carry away an SUV!

In deserts, flash floods are often even more dangerous for several reasons. First, storms in arid regions aren’t as common but tend to drop enormous amounts of rain in a relatively short period of time. (I can attest to that firsthand!) Secondly, the soil in many deserts (like the Negev) is poorly-absorbent and almost clay-like so the water doesn’t sink in as you would expect. The clay soil quickly seals up forcing the rain water to rapidly rush along the desert floor. Finally, since rain and rivers are rare in the desert, debris builds up between storms causing flash floods to carry large amounts of rocks, branches, and other heavy items.

So there I was, in the middle of the desert, witnessing an actual flash flood.

This small river was rushing right down the canyon we had just hiked up. (Thankfully, we had made it back to camp 30 minutes earlier!) As we watched, the river became wider and faster. . .until it was nearly 100 feet to the other side!