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Flooding warning for Livingston County
By Greg Cima
gcima@pantagraph.com
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PONTIAC -- Weather authorities are warning of flooding in the area and police are telling drivers to watch for water-covered roads in the next two days because of heavy rain and already waterlogged soil.

The National Weather Service also said Friday that flash floods were possible, particularly north of a line from Macomb to Bloomington, starting early today.

The flash flood watch started at 1 a.m. Saturday and was scheduled to run 24 hours for McLean, Tazwell, Peoria, Marshall, Stark and Knox counties. Cities mentioned as potential flash flood locations were El Paso, Chenoa, Galesburg, Canton, Peoria, Chillicothe and Toluca.

The National Weather Service also issued a flood warning for Livingston, Ford, Iroquois and southern Kankakee counties in Illinois and Benton, Jasper and Newton counties in northwest Indiana late Friday afternoon. The flood warning was scheduled to last until 3:30 a.m. Saturday.

Meteorologist Kirk Huettl of the weather service’s Lincoln office said it appeared the area would receive half to 1 inch of rain starting late Friday and into Saturday evening. Though the amounts aren’t much by themselves, they add to the 2 to 3 inches received across the area and aggravate flood conditions, he said.

Huettl said the ground is so saturated that the rain will become runoff and raise levels in streams and rivers.

Livingston County sheriff’s Capt. John Johnson said some townships in his county ran out of barricades while closing roads Friday morning. And his office is recommending people use extra caution, especially at night, as low-lying rural roads could be covered with water and may not be blocked or marked as flooded.

“There’s a lot of water out there that needs to get through, and it’s going to take some time,” Johnson said.

Flooding in Livingston County covered roads in Cornell, Flanagan, Saunemin and Rooks Creek townships, Johnson said.

Sheriff’s offices in McLean, DeWitt, Ford, LaSalle and Logan counties said they had no reports of flooding Friday.

A short stretch of Fifth Street in Pekin was down to one lane Friday, Tazewell County officials said. And a portion of U.S. 24 was flooded between Eureka and El Paso in the morning, but the road was open Friday afternoon.

Woodford County Sgt. Brad Rebman said his county hadn’t received the volume of flood reports received in Livingston and Marshall counties.

The National Weather Service also warned Friday of flooding of the Mackinaw River near Congerville. The river’s flood stage is 13 feet, and the water was expected to rise from 12.2 feet Friday evening to 14.5 feet by Saturday evening.

The Mackinaw’s waters were expected to drop below the flood stage by Sunday afternoon, but widespread agricultural flooding occurs at 13 feet, the warning says.

Huettl said Friday evening most of the heavier rain was in southern Illinois and southern Missouri and it was moving east to northeast at the time. Sunday is expected to be drier, when there is a small chance of thunderstorms and temperatures are expected to be in the 70s, he said.

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Reader comments on this story - 3 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

more info. wrote on Mar 23, 2007 3:38 PM:

" 116 going towards flanagan? "

To Jake wrote on Mar 23, 2007 2:06 PM:

" Where is 116 flooded? "

Jake wrote on Mar 23, 2007 1:31 PM:

" 116 is closed it's all flooded "
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