(Click the image to see the enlarged version)

Click here for the published report, Two Record rainstorms during August 2002 in the Midwest

Two August 2002 rainstorms, one centered in Illinois and Indiana on August 18-19, and one in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin on August 21-22, created record-setting point rainfalls of >10 inches and >12 inches, respectively.  Flooding, mostly near river courses, quickly dissipated, and flood losses were minimal. The major economic impact of the two August storms related to the added soil moisture and, in turn, the positive effects on soybean crops. Soybeans were in the pod-filling stage and shy of soil moisture when the storms occurred, and the rain-filled soils led to increased yields valued at $51 million in Illinois and Iowa.

Click here for the published report,  The 1993 Flood on the Mississippi River in Illinois

The 1993 Great Flood was a historic event in terms of the time of the year, its magnitude and duration, and its impact on the river and its floodplains. It was also an important event as far as meteorological, hydrological, and hydraulic factors are concerned. The Mississippi, the Missouri, and the lower reaches of the Illinois Rivers reached unprecedented levels of flood inundation and wreaked havoc with rural and urban life and with transportation systems. Never in recorded history has such an event occurred in this part of the river, where its floodplains are used so extensively for agricultural, recreational, and urban purposes.