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| | ISWS - Record-breaking Wet Weather across Illinois Continues |
 | | “With 11.8 inches of rainfall — 183 percent of average — since April 1, this is the wettest April 1–May 19 period in Illinois since 1900, and the month is not over yet,” says State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.sws.uiuc.edu), a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. |
 | | Beecher City, near Effingham, has accumulated 19.32 inches since April 1, including 11.35 inches on May 6–14, which exceeds the 10-day, 100-year storm for that region,” says Angel. |
 | | Besides already averaging 6.60 inches of rainfall across Illinois in the first 19 days of May (2.48 inches more than the May average), temperatures 4 degrees cooler than average have further slowed the drying of saturated soils. |
| www.sws.uiuc.edu /hilites/press/recordwetwx052002.asp (327 words) |
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