Rain Across the Northern Half of Illinois

We had some decent rainfall amounts in much of the northern half of the state in the last 24 hours. In this image from the NWS Southern Region, green is good – meaning that between 1 and 2 inches fell in those areas. Areas in blue received 3/4 of an inch or less.
Here in Champaign, we had 2.07 inches at the official site while I had 2.15 inches at my house. This is the largest 24-hour rainfall we have had since April 26, 2011. Also, it brings our monthly total to 5.56 inches, which is 1.63 inches above normal for August.
The second figure shows the precipitation departures from normal for August so far. Areas in green and blue are above normal, areas in gray are near normal, and areas in yellow are still below normal. Parts of northern Illinois are below normal as well as a wedge extending from Quincy to Decatur.
However, if you are thinking the drought is fading, the last map shows the precipitation deficits since January 1, 2012. Large areas of Illinois are still 8 to 12 inches below normal (yellow) and a few areas in central and southern Illinois are 12 to 16 inches below normal (red). We have a long ways to go before this drought is over.

Rains of August 26-27, 2012. Source: NWS. Click to enlarge.

August 1-27, 2012, precipitation departure from normal. Source: NWS. Click to enlarge.

Precipitation deficits since January 1, 2012. Source: NWS. Click to enlarge.

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