Taken in itself, water can both flood, or put out fire-destroy

or save. In light of the recent dry conditions, it tipped the scale toward the latter, as a recent downpour this past week tipped Smokey the Bear signs from “very high” or “moderate,” to “low,” whether in Augusta, Thorp, or Cadott. Speaking of which, what’s the local forecast like?

Down at forecast.weather.gov-as opposed to a dotcom

provider, the dewpoint Tuesday morning was 63 degrees as measured from the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, the

nearest official weather collecting station, with thunderstorms

See RAIN GAUGE, Page 9 RAIN GAUGE

FROM PAGE 2

deemed likely according to the probability equation but only rain falling overnight Tuesday in the Stanley-Boyd Country.

If by chance you're looking at this Thursday instead when the paper is dated, the forecast shows a 70 percent chance of showers with a high of fifty-five degrees, plunging to 39 overnight as the chance of showers diminishes to 50 percent, or half and half.

Moving from Thursday night into Friday, the high increases to 58 degrees with the chance of showers further decreasing to 30 percent, as the night of Friday May 28 is forecast to have mostly clear skies, with a low of thirty-seven degrees.

Moving into Saturday, the Ringelspiel forecast is for Sunny weather with a high near 67, joined by a south-southeast wind from five to ten miles per hour. You may or may not need to look for a roof over your head Saturday night, with a thirty percent chance of showers (seventy percent chance of NO showers), with a mostly cloudy forecast and a low around 48. Winds Saturday night as measured from the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport-closer than the "local" weather office at Chanhassen, Minnesota-that is, winds from Chippewa are expected to be south southeast, from five to ten miles per hour in force.

Moving into Sunday and church along with Ringelspiel later on, the forecast stands with a thirty percent chance of showers AND thunderstorms. The outlook, however, is expected to be partly sunny, with a high near 71 degrees Fahrenheit and winds traveling south southwest from five to ten miles per hour. Taking the river valley route, that would place things at the mouth of the Chippewa and Wabasha, Minnesota within five to ten hours At any rate, moving into Memorial Day Monday, the forecast calls for a thirty percent chance of showers with mostly sunny skies, and a high near 73. Plan for a calm wind "becoming west around five miles per hour in the afternoon-if only the weather were so predictable.

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.