Chicago Storm

Given all of the rotating storms currently in E MO/S IL/SW IN...and an even better environment tomorrow...should be able to get at least a few to produce something.

Looks quite possible, but unfortunately I won't be in town to see it.

Well then...

Through May 13th, ORD only had 0.29" of rain on the month. After the quick turn around the past few days, ORD is now up to 4.52" on the month. With the additional expected rain in the coming days, and then a continued wet pattern looking likely to continue next week/next weekend, can probably start looking ahead to wettest Mays on record. It just so happens the record wettest May was just last year in 2019, with 8.25". It will definitely be within reach if this new event works out.

Looks likely now, possibly locally higher as well.

Finished with an event rainfall total of 4.25" at ORD, and 4.55" at here.

This also makes it the highest calendar day rainfall at any point in the month of May. Previous record was 3.45” on 5/29/1981. .

RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 140 AM CDT FRI MAY 15 2020 ..RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM RAINFALL SET AT CHICAGO-OHARE A RECORD RAINFALL OF 3.53 INCHES WAS SET FOR MAY 15TH AT CHICAGO-OHARE YESTERDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 1.95 SET IN 1945.

Worst and most significant/widespread flooding I have experienced here is ongoing. Most roads are several blocks in which they are partially to fully underwater, many with feet of standing or flowing water...with many closed. The nearby creek flooded a large park complex, which has backed up onto a nearby road. There is one stretch of a nearby road where several blocks are under feet of water, with cars submerged to above their windows and water is entering homes. Up until now the period of tropical remnants of Sept 2008 featured the worst flooding I had seen around here, but this has now topped that. In that case it was 10"+ of rain over a longer span of time, where this was 4"+ of rain in the past 24hrs...and nearly 2"/hr at one point tonight.

~2" of rain at ORD in the past hour.

Still one well pronounced couplet as it is about to enter Kane Co. Looks like on the current track, it will come about 15min driving distance from here. If it holds on a bit longer, might have to take a drive.

New tor warning with it, as there are still two couplets as it moves across DeKalb Co.

There it is... tor warned.

Storm needs a tor warning. Two couplets in Lee Co currently, and becoming better defined with closer approach to radar.

There has been a significant meso with the storm moving across Lee Co, with associated WAA wing extending eastward into the Chicago metro.

FFW for Chicago... ~1" of rain in 10min at MDW COOP.

Best looking radar around here in ages.

Might have said this too soon...We'll see.

Main issue is no surface flow. Probably would have produced otherwise.

Can probably toss this now for the most part. Looks like any training with excessive totals will now be more isolated/localized...instead of more widespread as it looked earlier.

The whole area has the same kind of threat...No matter if you're in ORD, IKK or GBG.

While there is a still a SLGT worthy severe risk for the area (even if SPC did trim it, they have been meh), the flood threat looks to steal the show overall. Upwards of 1.00-2.50" of rain fell across a corridor within N Illinois last night/this morning. It looks like a good portion of that corridor will overlap with the heaviest for this afternoon/tonight, with upwards of another 2-5" of rain possible. Could be seeing final totals in that overlap region in excess of 6"...if things line up correctly.

Quality storms this morning around here. 1.28” rain at ORD this morning and 2.04” here. .

It is definitely much better, as madwx pointed out. Not just for our region either...It has done well in the Plains as well. A recent example was when it nailed the 5/7 event from 1+ day out.

It is. Previous high was <180.