Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Illinois River is above Flood Stage


There is a Flood Warning for the Illinois river at Ottawa affecting La Salle county and at La Salle affecting Bureau and La Salle counties.  This warning lasts all the way through Saturday evening.  The Illinois river was at 23.06 ft at 6:45am (CST) this morning which puts it over 3 feet above flood stage.  Therefor minor flooding is occurring and it is also in the forecast. 

The river looks to be at its peak this morning and it will slowly go down as the weekend approaches.  At 20 feet flooding will impact agricultural areas in La Salle, Spring Valley, and Peru lowlands.  At 21 feet the flooding will impact low lying agricultural areas 6 miles  upstream and 12 miles down stream.  At 22 feet, the riverside parking lot at Starved Rock State Park will flood.  

The good news is the river looks to go down in the following days.  If you encounter a Flooded roadway, turn around and find an alternative route.

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