Heavy rains fell across parts of South Central Illinois late Wednesday afternoon causing some low lying roads to flood.
The Salem Water Plant recorded 1.88 inches of rain and the Centralia Water Treatment Plant 1.93 inches of rain. The Centralia Water Plant reports one gate of Raccoon Lake was fully open Thursday morning to get rid of access water causing flooding on Lagoon and Brick Hill Roads below the dam. At least one vehicle was stranded in the high water on Lagoon Road. At the Salem Reservoir, water was as high as 12 and a half inches over the spillway before it began going down early Thursday morning.
The Kell Fire Department was called to a report of a car that had hydroplaned off of a flooded section of Route 37 a mile and a half south of the Route 161 interchange. Kell Fire Chief Lonnie McDaneld says a car driven by 19-year-old Blaid Phillips of Mt. Vernon ran into a field just four feet from Raccoon Creek that had risen to an estimated 15 feet depth at the time. Phillips had made his way to higher ground before emergency help arrived. The water level quickly dropped overnight.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Department reports another vehicle became stranded in the high water on Cemetery Road, but the driver was able to get out.
The heaviest part of the storm system intensified as it moved across Eastern Marion and Jefferson Counties into Clay and Wayne Counties. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for Jefferson, Clay and Wayne Counties with a tornado warning issued for a portion of Wayne County. There have been no reports of any serious damage.
Among the roads still reported flooded on Thursday are roads in the Crooked Creek Bottoms including South College Street Extension, Hotze Road, Hoots Chapel and Westline Road. The low lying crossings across Flat Creek and North Fork on the Kaskaskia River system on the Kaskaskia River are flooded in Patoka Township.
