This past weekend brought a welcome boost in moisture to areas that have been starved for rain.

Ed Shimon at the National Weather Service explains, west of Interstate-55 saw the most rainfall. He indicates there is a stretch of central Illinois really in need of rain.

The latest drought monitor data was released last week, just after the holiday weekend. Shimon indicates that since that release, we've received a substantial amount of rain that would alter some of those figures.

According to Shimon, it is dry, and if a storm pops up, it could drop two weeks or rain in a matter of hours.

Shimon reminds, July is the wettest month of the calendar year.

Later today (Wednesday), severe weather is expected in northern Illinois and the upper Midwest. Shimon indicates there are parts of central Illinois in the line of the threat of those storms.