Will next round of storms bring more flooding?
Flood-weary residents who have been waiting for water to recede are now watching weather reports showing another round of storms threatening the area, officials said Tuesday.
While experts are concerned about the forecast, they say it's too soon to tell what effect it could have on flooded areas.
"Any rainfall at this point would not be a good thing," Joseph Keller, executive director of the Fox Waterway Agency in Fox Lake. "The ground is saturated throughout the system right now."
Amy Seeley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said there is a 60 percent chance of rain from Wednesday night through Thursday night. There's another 60 percent chance of rain Friday night, she said.
Those storms could produce a possible 1.5 inches of rain over the soaked northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin area, Seeley said. The heaviest amounts would be north of I-88, she said.
Seeley cautioned the rain is only a forecast at this point, and officials are uncertain of the amounts.
"It's too early to say right now what the additional rain will do to the flooded areas," she said. "We are definitely keeping an eye on it."
The Fox Waterway's Keller said his agency also is waiting to determine what could happen should the area be hit by another round of storms.
The Chain O' Lakes and Fox River from the Wisconsin border to the McHenry Dam has crested, he said, and the lower river between McHenry and Algonquin was "in the crest zone" Tuesday afternoon.
If the rain is scattered, the Chain and Fox River system may be able to take it with no change to river and lake levels, Keller said.
However, if the storms produce a severe, heavy, prolonged rain, it could cause the entire system to rise again.
"It's unknown what could happen at this point," he said. "It depends on how heavy and widespread it is. But, we are watching the models and keeping an eye on it."