by Steve Dunford
The Storm Prediction Center has downgraded the threat for severe thunderstorms from slight (level 2) to marginal (level 1) for today.
There is a line of storms approaching the area quickly. With these, there will be frequent lightning and some heavy downpours.
There will be widespread showers and thunderstorms in the region today, with embedded heavy downpours. Severe weather might come into play if the atmosphere becomes unstable in the late afternoon and early evening hours. This would be if it would clear off, and we would have peeks of the sun.
The SPC was very close to issuing a Tornado Watch for the overnight hours for Southern Illinois. They backed off after the line of storms that prompted some tornado warnings to be issued in Western and Central Missouri.
I will be monitoring updates from the SPC every few hours. If the situation changes, I will give another update.
Below is the hazardous weather outlook from the National Weather Service in Paducah, KY
.DAY ONE…Today and Tonight Numerous thunderstorms are expected today and early tonight, and isolated thunderstorms may reach severe levels. The primary hazards will be damaging winds and large hail. Locally heavy rain will accompany some storms, with the possibility of flooding in a few locations.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…Sunday through Friday There is a small chance of thunderstorms Tuesday and Tuesday night. The primary concern with these storms is lightning.
EVANSVILLE, IL (West Frankfort Gazette – Click to read the full story on the link above. Here is an excerpt below)
WEST FRANKFORT, IL (Roni Leforge – WSIL TV. Please click to read the full story and watch the accompanying video. Here is an excerpt) City leaders dispute claims they didn’t do enough to ease flooding that caused people to leave their homes. Several homes had more than six inches of standing water inside over the weekend, which led some residents to believe the city’s pumps may have not been working properly. But News 3 spoke with the mayor, who says the pumps were working just fine. The system just couldn’t get the water out of town quickly enough. Michele Odle spent Tuesday morning unpacking her home. “I left pots and pans and stuff like that in there, but all my big furniture and stuff was all in a U-Haul,” said Odle. Within hours on Saturday morning, her yard had become a lake. She and her husband decided to get the important things out, so they wouldn’t be destroyed by flood waters. 
Billy Ray Keltner, 20 of Christopher IL, passed away on Wednesday April 26, 2017 as a result of an automobile accident.
BENTON, IL (Sean Conway, WSIL TV- Please click for the full story and accompanying video. Here is an excerpt.) A Benton man is credited with saving his neighbor’s life during a morning house fire. The man pulled a woman from her burning home shortly before fire crews arrived. Benton fire crews responded to a neighbor’s report of a fire on the 500 block North McLeansboro St. on Monday morning. A neighbor walking by said he noticed the smoke coming from the house and sprang to action to save the woman trapped inside. 
