Flood Warning in Effect for Montgomery

Those May flowers had better be worth it.

According to the National Weather Service, the Montgomery area has seen an accumulated eight inches of rain over the past 60 days. That, naturally, has caused the Fox River to rise, and flood warnings to appear on a fairly regular basis.

The latest of these, issued Wednesday morning, cautioned that the river is expected to rise to “flood stage” by Wednesday afternoon. The warning also included various communities along the Kankakee, Des Plaines and Iroquois rivers, and Sugar Creek in Iroquois County.

“Flood stage,” according to the National Weather Service, is 13 feet through Montgomery. But Mike Pubentz, director of public works, said he does not anticipate water rising to worrisome levels.

The homes most in danger of flooding, he said, are along River Street, north of Ashland Avenue. And those houses don’t see flooding until the river rises to about 14 feet, Pubentz said.

According to an ongoing water level analysis conducted by the NWS, the Fox River is expected to hold at 13 feet through Thursday afternoon, and then recede. Even so, he said his staff has empty sandbags at the ready, and sand suppliers on call to deliver quickly if needed.

Residents, Pubentz said, can check that Weather Service analysis for up-to-date water level predictions.

In the meantime, more wet weather is predicted for the coming days, including possible thunderstorms on Saturday, according to the NWS.