With soils saturated and a number of streams and rivers in flood, area residents are likely to cast nervous glances at each new cluster of thunderstorms in the days to come. Were August to proceed through its remaining nine days without an additional drop of rain, the month -- with 6.40" on the books to date -- would rank 13th wettest of the past 137 Augusts.
There hasn't been a wetter 20-day August open at the city's official rain gauge since 1990 when 7.25" had fallen by this date. Only seven other Aug. 1-20 periods since 1871 have been wetter. But the story is an even wetter one in areas around the city. WeatherBug rainfall sensors in northwest suburban Palatine have tallied 13.05", while 9.82" has fallen at Highland Park and 9.33" in Glencoe.
Hurricane Dean, headed for what could be a calamitous landfall Tuesday in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, was declared a "catastrophic" Category 5 at 8:35 p.m. Monday evening when sustained winds reached 160 m.p.h.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
