The Dream That Predicted Flood Ivan

The Dream That Predicted Flood Ivan

Back in the fall of 2004 we had a very productive storm season. In my neck of the woods there were four sequential floods each happening on the weekends and each getting progressively worse. I live in Ohio, so we do not have hurricanes, but we do get the fallout from them; strong winds, rain, hail and lots of damage.

The first storm happened on the last weekend of August. Heavy rain, flooded creeks and streams, and moderate winds. I had around 10 acres of land in the very small town of Glencoe back then. Half of the area was woods and tall trees and half was an open field with a gradual incline. We had chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, and a wild turkey. The creek ran along our property line and since there was a large hill on the other side of the creek, there was nowhere else for the water to go than on our property. By the end of the day the water line had only risen one or two feet on our property. No damage from the first one, thank God.

The second storm happened on the first weekend in September. It was a little bit worse. More rain and flooding. This time the water crept up further than before, but it wasn’t close to anything on our land to cause any damage. At this time, I was not thinking about any major flooding issues. I guess I thought it couldn’t happen here. Boy was I wrong.

Then, the third flood came on the second weekend in September. It was much stronger than the previous two. It seemed to rain all day non-stop. The water from the creek rose about 4 to 6 feet. I had to move the chicken pen, a truck, and a couple of our dog’s boxes to get them out of harm's way. After this one, I was worried. I looked at our land with a totally different perspective. I planned on building a horse barn and other things near the creek, but after all that, I decided to change plans.

That’s when I had the dream. I dreamt that our creek rose so high, it was at the tops of the trees. The water was raging so hard and so fast, but the odd thing, was that the water was moving in the wrong direction. I guess dreams are weird like that. All that week I had been listening to the radio and keeping track of the weather. Hurricane Ivan was moving up the east coast and was following the Appalachian Mountains. I knew it was going to hit us good. I moved what I could on our land to higher ground to avoid any losses.

It was Friday, the third weekend in September and a day after my birthday, when flood Ivan showed up. It rained really hard all day. I just watched as the water kept rising and rising. It was like something I had never seen before. To see nature at its most destructive is amazing and to be in the middle of it, I just cannot describe it. The creek looked just like it had in my dream. The water was rushing and rolling so hard and so fast taking with it anything that it could. I saw trees uprooted, furniture, yard items, small trailers, cars, and so many things washed away. The creek rose to about 25 to 30 feet, almost reaching to tops of the trees. I couldn’t believe it, it was just like my dream. Some would say I was fooling, but I have it all on video tape. I will never forget that day or that dream.