Juslivn

Northern IL Wx and Chain O' Lakes Beauty

Posted by: juslivn, 4:02 PM GMT on June 14, 2010

June 24: The lower river to the Algonquin Dam is closed, Chain, and upper river are open as far as I can tell...I missed this, but it sort of figured!

June 22: The WX is extremely unstable for our area for this a.m. and tomorrow in my opinion, oh and as I look at the Noaa discussion, they concur! Hmm. Let's go with the experts though, lol.
Chi! Please monitor your Noaa radio, and DO NOT let your guard down, though we have had some storms that weren't really bad that brought warnings... please be vigilant and don't disregard warnings... Ya gotta know this is unusual for us to be this hot and humid. We have skirted some bad, bad storms, please pay attention while this system passes for the next day, and be safe!

Full Discussion:

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
859 PM CDT TUE JUN 22 2010

ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019-
240200-
WINNEBAGO-BOONE-MCHENRY-LAKE ILLINOIS-OGLE-LEE-DE KALB-KANE-
DUPAGE-COOK-LA SALLE-KENDALL-GRUNDY-WILL-KANKAKEE-LIVINGSTON-
IROQUOIS-FORD-LAKE INDIANA-PORTER-NEWTON-JASPER-BENTON-
859 PM CDT TUE JUN 22 2010 /959 PM EDT TUE JUN 22 2010/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...
NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

WEATHER HAZARDS EXPECTED:

THUNDERSTORMS...SOME COULD PRODUCE:
DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 70 MPH.
HAIL TO THE SIZE OF NICKELS.
CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING.
HEAVY RAINFALL...WITH LOCALIZED FLOODING.
FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. AREAS AFFECTED AND TIMING:
THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE PLAINS THIS
EVENING. THESE STORMS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP INTO A FAST MOVING
SQUALL LINE...WHICH WILL MOST LIKELY IMPACT AREAS OF NORTHERN
ILLINOIS...MAINLY NORTH OF I-80...AFTER MIDNIGHT TO EARLY
WEDNESDAY MORNING. UNCERTAINTY REMAINS AS TO THE EXACT PATH
OR TIMING OF THESE STORMS. THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING
WINDS. HEAVY RAINFALL OVER ALREADY SATURATED SOILS WILL LIKELY
LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING.

DISCUSSION:
A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL LIFT OUT OF THE ROCKIES
INTO THE PLAINS OVERNIGHT. THIS WAVE WILL MOVE RAPIDLY EAST
TO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND WESTERN GREAT LAKES EARLY
WEDNESDAY. VERY STRONG LOW LEVEL INFLOW OF HUMID AIR WILL
PUSH INTO NORTHERN ILLINOIS EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.

PORTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS RIVER AND SUGAR CREEK WILL REMAIN IN
FLOOD.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

AFTER A ROUND OF MORNING THUNDERSTORMS...THE ATMOSPHERE WILL
DESTABILIZE BY AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 80S TO LOWER
90S AND DEW POINTS IN THE LOWER 70S WILL CREATE A VERY UNSTABLE
SITUATION. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE
MIDWEST. AN ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW AND TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL
APPROACH THE AREA LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE COMBINATION OF
INSTABILITY AND STRONG WIND SHEAR WILL MAKE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS
LIKELY...WITH A THREAT OF SUPERCELLS THAT ARE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND POSSIBLY TORNADOES.
THERE IS ALSO THE THREAT FOR HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLASH FLOODING.
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD END WITH THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE WEDNESDAY
EVENING.
HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL APPROACH 100 DEGREES WEDNESDAY...AND AGAIN
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS SATURDAY
THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT.

PORTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS RIVER AND SUGAR CREEK WILL REMAIN IN
FLOOD.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED ...AND WILL LIKELYEARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING
BE NEEDED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING.

*********************************************

June 21: Rain, rain and more rain...it is a wonder we are not in flood.
Again, another really fascinating report from our NWS Chicago on the June 18 Bow echo storms. Wow. Really cool report, and look at this picture! Follow the link and it is a panoramic, live image WAY COOL!

NWS Chicago Photo from their website.

LINK TO NWS REPORT ON JUNE 18TH STORMS: Link

June 19/20: A bit of a report on yesterdays storm:

Many still without power here in Chicagoland. My brother and his family (who helped with the Portlight trip and donations) are still without power after 16 hours in Buffalo Grove, as are many thoughout Chicagoland.
This slide show isn't the best, but it shows the high tension power poles down for about a 1/4 mile in Des Plaines along the tracks.
I didn't post pics of the thousands of trees down throughout Chicagoland and a lot of other damage over a very widespread area of very populated communities. Thankfully, no loss of life and only a few injuries. Pretty amazing actually.

Thank you Com Ed, and all the municipality workers who have worked tirelessly throughout the day and night to recover from this storm. They know there are some places which will be without power until Wednesday or more.

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June 18: Prayers for all in Minnesota, and anywhere yesterday's storms hit.

I missed a tornado warning this morning for my friends in Champaign County, IL. and as it heats up here in IL we have a chance of severe all throughout the state, including Northern Il. It is going to be a hot muggy day!

In the comments, I posted an excellent feature on the June 14 storms courtesy of a special report from NWS. The links are there and it is post #31 at the bottom.

Have a nice day and stay cool!

WEATHER HAZARDS EXPECTED:

HEAT INDICES APPROACHING 100 DEGREES.
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCING LARGE HAIL
AND/OR DAMAGING WINDS.

AREAS AFFECTED AND TIMING:

ALL OF THE OUTLOOK AREA WILL EXPERIENCE HEAT INDEX VALUES IN
THE MID TO UPPER 90S FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH EARLY EVENING.

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BY MID
AFTERNOON ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. SOME THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY
TO PERSIST THIS EVENING AND MAY OCCUR WELL INTO THE NIGHT.

(Spotters may be needed this afternoon)

June 16: What is that yellow orb in the sky? Wow! It's a beautiful, beautiful June Day in Chicagoland. Sunny, and high of 83! Enjoy!

June 14: Note: I think our NWS Map Artist was incredibly colorful this morning, no?(See map below)
Hmmmm. It's rain, rain, rain for us this morning and today...but accumulations are not expected above a 1/4 inch.

Lotus Blog: Not quite sure how to put this blog together, but I am absolutely into searching for more lotus to photograph, and finding out more about these beautiful flowers that grace our Chain of Lakes here in Northern IL.

Here is a fascinating excerpt from the Lake County, IL Historical Society site at http://www.lakecountyhistory@blogspot.com :

"...A Poem by Robert Pearce 1899

This is one of 10 pages from the poem, which was published in red leather binding in 1909. (LCDM 93.6.1)

The beauty of the lotus beds in Lake County's Chain o' Lakes region inspired many. An excerpt from a poem written by Colonel John Vidvard of Grass Lake in 1916 reads:

From far off India's shores there came one day a mighty wind,
That carried in its shapeless arms a seed of wondrous kind;
And loathe, foresooth, to let it fall on uncongenial land,
Soared and soared o'er mount and vail and oaks that grandly stand
'Till Illinois shores were reached, where mid rice and break,
The wind let fall this precious seed in the waters of Grass Lake.
Vidvard was a great booster and conservator of the lotus. However, he mistakenly identified the local plants as Egyptian lotus (nelumbium speciosum). This was a common misconception, no doubt fueled by the exotic appeal of a plant making its way across the world to blossom on our shores. The species of lotus that grows in the Chain O' Lakes is the American lotus (nelumbo lutea), a native to the northeastern United States. (Lotus on Grass Lake, circa 1907 - LCDM 61.8.2)

Here is a photo of about the same spot taken yesterday. As I mentioned in my photo of lotus, the beds mostly disappeared after the Dam was built in 1939 due to raising and lowering the water levels.

A book, Chain O'Lakes, by Wendy and Robin J. Kessel (Postcard History Series) Published by Arcadia Publishing, has a few beautiful postcards of the early tourists viewing the lotus beds, complete with viewing stand. Being 1 hour out of Chicago, the Chain became a very popular tourist destination.

And my photo yesterday of a nearby channel as it exists now.

I'll add new photos as I find locations to capture the lotus, they will be in full bloom in about mid July. But once again, my photo from Pistakee Highlands Park, (part of the Chain waters) and lotus flowers from June 12, 2010.

Have a Pleasant Week Everyone, and yes, watching 92L and the Oil, and and and...Prayers for all. Stay Safe wherever you may be visiting my blog from.

Fox Waterway Agency Chain O' Lakes Status
5-26-2010