March 2007 has turned very wet as evidenced by river and stream flooding and saturated soils at many locations. More than 3" fell overnight in the hardest hit far south suburban locations. The ongoing flooding pictured here on Carpenter's Creek from observer Mary Anne Best of Remington, Ind., is the worst in at least 7 years. Mary Anne tells us she's seen water there only a bit higher in the 25 years she's been there. She adds:
"In the pics where you see the fencing to our internal yard and the bird feeder hanging off the fence....that is 10 feet above the level of the creek bank. There are may streets closed here in town due to high water. All of it is coming from Carpenter's Creek. The rain we got does not cause this kind of flooding. It is coming from Benton County on top of saturated ground."
Some overnight totals south of Chicago:
Muncie, IN 3.41"
Chatsworth, IL 3.13"
Remington, IN 2.79"
Bonfield (Kankakee County, IL) 1.75"
Wilmington (Will County, IL) 1.30"
Lowell, IN 1.10"
In Chicago proper, Frank Wachowski near Midway Airport reported at noon Friday that 1.45" has fallen at his location on the South Side since precipitation began Wednesday. Thanks to all for the reports and to Mary Anne for another illustrative photo set!
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
