Massive rainstorms in Tennessee over the weekend have caused the Cumberland River to crest at an estimated 52.5 feet and killed at least 19 people. Among the sites in Nashville that have been washed over by the floodwaters are the Grand Ole Opry, the country-music mecca that is slated to kick off its 85th-birthday celebration on May 25, the home fields for the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators, and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which has lost two grand pianos and a $2.5 million organ to the rising waters. (There's also this startling image from the front page of the Tennessean.)

It is expected to be in the high 30s and low 40s this weekend in eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. The annual Red River "hundred year flood" is on. And in its latest attempt to attract Anderson Cooper, the region is pulling out all the stops. Moorhead and Clay County have already declared states of emergency. Fargo's Cass County jail is prepping to move its prisoners north to Grand Forks where they stand less of a chance of being drowned. An upside of the rising waters? Real estate sales are booming. At least ten homeowners have sold their doomed riverside domiciles to the city of Fargo, which [...]

Could global warming's elevation of sea levels result in a flood here in New York City? Some scientists say yes, and suggest that the city erect expensive storm surge barriers to protect low-lying areas. Others worry about the cost and caution restraint until the potential danger is more evident. But we may be facing the threat even now-particularly with this goddamn rain.