The National Weather Service in St. Louis has continued the Flood Warning for the Kaskaskia River at Vandalia until Friday, May 5, 2017 at 10am. The Flood Warning is a result of heavy rainfall that fell over the basin last weekend. Rainfall heavier than forecast could cause river levels to rise even higher than predicted. The National Weather Service will monitor this developing situation and issue follow up statements as conditions or forecasts change. Never drive cars, trucks or SUVs through flooded areas. The water may be too deep to allow for safe passage.
Additionally, the National Weather Service in St. Louis has expanded the Flash Flood Watch to include portions of Illinois and Missouri, including Fayette County from 1am tomorrow morning (May 3, 2017) – 1pm on Thursday (May 4, 2017). A new storm system will bring an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain to the region. This rain will impact areas that experienced 4 to 8 inches of rain this past weekend and are already experiencing flooding. The combination of this new rainfall, potential for isolated thunderstorms with higher rainfall rates, and the existing saturated soils will result in enhanced run off. This runoff should result in widespread areal flooding and may also cause rapid onset flash flooding.