Steady light rain Tuesday puts a little dent in our rainfall deficit

The rainfall Tuesday is what we needed to help chip away at the rainfall deficit across the region. While a few locations have received only a few tenths of an inch, other locations are nearing half an inch of rainfall so far Tuesday evening. While the coverage of the rain is not quite as widespread as it was earlier in the day, steady light rain showers will continue through about Midnight with a little bit of a lull in the activity overnight. On and off rain showers and even an isolated thunderstorm or two remain likely

Wednesday. Although Wednesday will feature more dry hours than Tuesday.

As of 8pm rainfall totals range from just under a tenth of an inch in Rochelle, to just over half an inch in Sterling and Monroe. We will likely see another tenth of an inch, up to a quarter of an inch, from the additional rain showers this evening and overnight.

The steady rain we've had today is much more beneficial to easing drought conditions than a hard

and heavy rain would be. That's because when soil dries out it becomes hard and cracked. When the rain comes down heavily, it 'bounces' off the soil and isn't easily absorbed into the ground, often times causing more of a flooding concern and risk. When the rain falls at a more steady pace, over a longer duration of time, it is able to soak into the soil more efficiently. So a rain just like what we had Tuesday, and could very well end up seeing for Wednesday, will do us some good.