Heavy weekend rain could ease drought in McHenry, Lake counties

As Lake and McHenry counties suffer through a severe drought, some much-needed heavy rains could make a dent in that drought this weekend and into next week.

Several rounds of potentially heavy rains are expected throughout the Chicago area this weekend, with scattered chances of rain also forecast into next week. Heavier amounts are predicted to fall in areas to the south, however.

Kevin Birk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Romeoville, said 1 to 3 inches of rain could fall across the Chicago area. Birk said the amount will “widely vary” across the area, with higher amounts possible under heavier thunderstorms.

More widely spread rain and storms are expected overnight Friday into Saturday morning but could move out later Saturday morning, so there will be some dry hours Saturday. Birk said there could be “more rounds of showers and thunderstorms later [Saturday] after 3 or 4 p.m., but it won’t be raining all day.”

A flash flood watch also is in effect for areas south of Lake and McHenry counties until Saturday morning, as a round of heavy rains is expected.

“Areas farther south have seen more periods of heavy rain over the last one to two days,” Birk said. “I still think [northern areas] could get into some of this heavier rain, as well.”

The forecast does not dry up much after Saturday. Chances of rain will carry over into new week. Rainfall is expected to be scattered, so the exact timing and locations of showers and thunderstorms remain uncertain.

Although it could be enough to ruin weekend plans, the rain is welcome news for the drought across the state’s northern counties.

“The rainfall amounts will help the drought greatly,” Birk said. “It won’t get rid of it completely, but it’ll help it quite a bit.”

The northern parts of Lake and McHenry counties are under extreme drought conditions, while the other half of the counties are suffering from a severe drought, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Drought Monitor produced by the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and updated Wednesday. This is an improvement over last week after heavy rain June 20, when almost all of Lake and McHenry counties were experiencing extreme drought situations.

Birk said parts of Lake and McHenry counties were running rainfall deficits upward of 10 inches behind normal before last Sunday’s heavy rain and storms that produced a tornado in southern DuPage County. Rainfall over the next several days could reduce the severity of that drought.

“This certainly isn’t going to erase that deficit, but it’ll help quite a bit,” Birk said.