Flood in Fulton County, Illinois

Periods of heavy rain on saturated soil resulted in extensive flooding in northern Fulton county, particularly in the vicinity of the upper Spoon River basin. Nearly every road was under water and impassible. A 46 year old woman died when she drove her car around a barricade and was swept into the Spoon River just north of the Fulton/Knox County line. She drowned in Fulton County around Midnight and was found in the Spoon River near London Mills.

A warm front lifted northward into the region during the early morning hours of May 15th, triggering a large complex of thunderstorms across Iowa. These storms tracked eastward into north-central Illinois producing very heavy rain west of the Illinois River during the morning. Additional strong to severe thunderstorms developed further south along the warm front in the afternoon. These storms produced numerous reports of large hail, heavy rainfall, and flash flooding - including a fatality in a vechicle due to high water late in the evening. This was the second heavy rain episode within three days in central Illinois. There were also isolated reports of wind damage in central Illinois.