The Popcorn Stand: Yes, the heavy stuff is expected to come down

I love the rain. And every time I’m somewhere where the rain is coming down heavy, I think of one of my all-time favorite movies, “Caddyshack.”

There’s a scene in which the bishop is looking to get a quick nine holes in before the torrential downpour comes and he grabs “Carl,” the inept and more than slightly off assistant greens keeper played by Bill Murray to be his caddy. The bishop, though, is having the round of his life and could even break the course record. As the rain keeps coming down heavier and heavier, the bishop turns to Carl and asks what he thinks to which Carl replies, “I’d keep playing, I don’t think the heavy stuff is going to come down for a while.”

On a more serious note, though, the “heavy stuff” is supposed to come down this weekend, leading to concerns of flooding. We all remember the flood of New Year’s 1997 when flooding in the Reno-Sparks area especially transformed it into Venice, Italy, but in an awful way.

And with the warm, heavy storm expected this weekend, there are concerns we could see some of the similar-type flooding as in 1997. Again, we all need to have perspective. We shouldn’t be running around like it’s Armageddon, but we should also be prepared.

Obviously, the hope is whatever flooding may occur this weekend won’t be nearly as bad as in 1997. That was a doozy. We had far more snow in the Tahoe area at that time as it was hit with heavy snowfall throughout December, 1996. Then came the incredibly warm, heavy storm, which melted all that snow and led to the area rivers flowing down like runaway trains.

We don’t have nearly as much snow in the mountains this time, but I have to admit, Thursday’s cold, snowy weather caused me to have some concern.

Anyway, when the heavy stuff is supposed to come down this weekend, I’m definitely not going to take Carl’s advice.

— Charles Whisnand