Flash Flood Watches through Friday

11:30pm Update: Rainfall rates of 1" to 2" per hour remain possible over Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois.  Read the full discussion here.

A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for Northern Illinois through Friday evening.  Heavy rain has been falling over Central and Eastern Iowa, with severe weather a little further west.  Severe weather is not expected over Northern Illinois or Southern Wisconsin either tonight or Friday, but heavy rainfall is.

Several inches of rain has already fallen over a few counties in Eastern Iowa.  Most of the heaviest rain has been pushing south and southeast through Southern Iowa and West-Central Illinois.  These storms are feeding into higher instability and will continue to slide south.

While the strongest storms are moving south, the complex as a whole is moving east.  And there has been a slight uptick in rain activity over Northern Iowa.  So with those factors, the Flash Flood Watch was extended further east to include Rockford.

Highest rainfall totals will be over Iowa where heavy rain from Thursday morning added up to almost an inch.  Add that to the heavy rain currently falling and totals reaching three, plus, inches is very well likely.

Closer to home rainfall totals between one and two inches will be very well possible.  Locally higher amounts can't be ruled out west of Rockford.  Rain coverage will increase through Midnight and a little after.  A break in some of the steady rain is possible by Friday morning, with scattered thunderstorms possible along the cold front during the afternoon.