Major Rains Expected for Illinois

This image shows a side-by-side of two WRF Ensemble members from the University of Illinois' website. Here, we can see that, over the next several days, the remains of tropical cyclone Isaac will be putting down massive totals.

As of now, the target areas appear to be in Central Illinois, where over 7 inches is possible. However, as the member at the right shows, northern Illinois is also at risk for some heavy rains. It will come down to a very sharp cutoff on totals, which will make a 5 mile difference contain potentially a drastic spread.

Flash flooding is a real concern, as tropical systems typically carry very high amounts of moisture with them, thus enhancing chances for torrential rainfall, possibly reaching beyond 2 inches an hour.

Andrew