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That trend was broken this morning when a slow-moving thunderstorm
out of the northwest crossed into central Illinois and began dumping
its load. In Logan County it was about 3:42 a.m. National Weather
Service records show that during the first 40 minutes of the storm
an inch of rain fell. The next 20 minutes brought over 2 inches to
the hardest hit areas. While extensive lightning and thunder
accompanied the storm, Logan County was on the fringes of this
activity, which stayed mostly to the south. No high winds were
reported either.
As of 9 a.m., Terry Storer with the Logan County Emergency
Management Agency said that no damage was reported.
John Fulton, Logan County's University of Illinois Extension
director, said that the rainfall amounts were highly variable from
one area to another. It appears to have been a narrow band that
dumped the largest amounts, he said.
Reports from farmers indicate that at San Jose they had 1.5
inches, at the Extension office 0.95 inch, 1 1/3 inch at Broadwell
and less than an inch farther south, with pockets of higher amounts
around Springfield. Most Logan County creeks are affected by
rainfall amounts to the north. McLean reported three-tenths to
six-tenths of an inch.
Last Friday the Quad Cities area was swamped by a heavy rainfall
of 3.7 inches. That rain is expected to affect the Mississippi River
and could cause backups here in the next few days.
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As the heaviest rain was localized to small areas here, Fulton said
he did not expect it to have too much impact on the crops. The top 3
to 4 inches of soil was dry enough to absorb some of the moisture,
and some became runoff.
He added that the late emergence of the Japanese beetles could be
a bigger problem. The beetles eat corn silk, which is just beginning
to form. This would affect pollination.
The NWS forecast for the immediate area indicates the possibility
of more storms today and later this week. While no severe storms are
expected for this area, the weather could become severe to the east
and southeast. It is advisable to check weather reports before
traveling.
National Weather Service forecasts:
http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/
wwatxtget.php?cwa=ilx&wwa=
hazardous%20weather%20outlook
[By
JAN YOUNGQUIST] |
