June 24--Communities to the far west and far south of the Chicago area are just beginning to clean up and dry out from Monday night's onslaught of severe weather and flooding rains, but another storm system threatens to wallop the area Wednesday night and Thursday.
A storm system armed with a fresh supply of Gulf moisture is expected to deliver another round of flooding downpours along with an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms.
A flash flood watch has been posted for much of the area, with the exception of the Wisconsin border counties, which escaped Monday night's deluges.
The new rainfall Wednesday night and Thursday will aggravate the area's soggy landscape and swollen rivers and boost June's hefty precipitation totals, now twice normal.
The National Weather Service confirmed at least nine tornadoes across the area Monday night, including a high-end EF3 storm in the Coal City-Braidwood area that packed winds estimated at 160 mph.
