Greensboro, NC -- Flooding rains continue to inundate parts of the Nation as the remnants of Isaac track north out of Arkansas and into the Midwest. While much of this part of the country has been praying for rain to bring relief to the ongoing extreme drought, the manner in which the rain is coming is not necessarily what they may have had in mind.
Stretching from Arkansas through Missouri into Illinois and into Indiana, many locations would need 9-15 inches of rain to pull them out of the drought. Forecast rainfall over the next few days suggest that as much as 8 inches of rain may be possible as the remnants of Isaac slowly pass through.
While on the surface this may sound just like what is needed, it is the short period of time in which they are going to receive the rain that will be the problem.
The moisture starved soil across the Midwest can only handle small amounts of water at a time. As the copious amounts of rain fall through the Labor Day weekend, it will likely cause more of a problem with flooding as the excess water simply runs off the surface of the soil. Meteorologist Grant Gilmore demonstrated this in the 6 pm newscast on Friday.
While the 4-8 inches across the Midwest will offer some relief to the drought, it won't help as much as it would have if the rain was spread throughout a more extended period of time.
WFMY News 2