By THE HERALD-WHIG STAFF
and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Forecasters predict more rain today across already soggy Illinois and Missouri, with flash-flood warnings in effect through this afternoon across the region, but forecasts call for clearing conditions by Monday.

Quincy officially recorded 0.38 inch of rain at Lock and Dam 21 by 6 a.m. Saturday. Official rainfall measurements are taken each day at 6 a.m., but near steady rain continued Saturday as some early effects of Hurricane Ike moved across the state.

The Weather Underground Web site reported a rainfall total of 1.41 inches by 6 p.m. Saturday.

Accuweather said total rainfall in Quincy for the 48-hour period ending at 5 p.m. Saturday was 2 inches.

The wet conditions forced changes in scheduled outdoor activities, including Septemberfest at Quincy's Blessed Sacrament Church.

"We're having it all," said Annetta Costigan, head cook at Blessed Sacrament. "We're ready to go."

But the weather did force some last-minute changes from the planned outdoor setting.

"We've got a tent outside. We have games up in the gym, food down in the cafeteria and food upstairs," Costigan said.

Elsewhere, steady heavy rain Saturday was causing widespread flooding of roads and low-lying areas across Missouri and Kansas, while at least one death is being attributed to flooding in Kansas.

Meteorologists said rainfall from 2 to 9 inches fell across much of the two states in a short period of time, spawning a few tornadoes in eastern Kansas and western Missouri that caused only minor damage.

Most of the flooding was occurring as small creeks, and streams were overrunning their banks, causing water to cross rural roads and fill farm fields, especially in the Kirksville, Mo., area.

"I can't even count the number of road closures of in that area," said meteorologist Mark O'Malley at the Pleasant Hill office of the National Weather Service.

"There is a lot of standing water right now. I haven't heard of any larger cities significantly impacted by high water. It's mostly rural areas, gravel roads and farmsteads."

The weather service and law enforcement agencies were urging motorists to avoid driving through high water on roads and highways. In Wichita, Kan., a 65-year-old man was found dead in a flooded area after driving his sport utility vehicle into high water.

O'Malley said Tropical Storm Lowell brought in moisture from the Pacific Ocean that mixed with moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico. The heaviest rain was along a line from Wichita through southeast Iowa.

In the Chicago area, record rainfall on Saturday stranded motorists, temporarily shut down the major road to O'Hare International Airport and caused the cancellation of one of the city's largest ethnic festivals.

The torrential rains also led the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to open the Chicago Lock, reversing the flow of the Chicago River into Lake Michigan for only the third time in five years, district spokeswoman Jill Horst said. The move was meant to lower water levels along 76 miles of local rivers, creeks and tributaries, Horst said, and resulted in a 12-inch drop in the Chicago River's level.

"The water going into the lake is approximately 99 percent rainwater and stormwater runoff," Horst said. "Less than 1 percent of it is sewage."

The National Weather Service said the 3.2 inches rainfall at O'Hare by 7 a.m. Saturday morning broke the 2.62 inches record for overnight rainfall set in 1936.

Getting around by car and public transportation was difficult. Interstate 190, the major traffic artery into O'Hare, was closed for nearly one hour as flooding made portions of the roadway impassable.

The nearby Edens Expressway was closed in both directions at Pratt Street, with local, county and state police diverting vehicles stranded for hours onto side streets, Illinois State Police Master Sgt. S. Nowak said.

The Chicago Department of Aviation reported flight delays at O'Hare of an hour or more. Dozens of flights were canceled at O'Hare due to weather. United Airlines spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said up to 90 of the airlines 468 flights were expected to be canceled or rescheduled with many passengers being automatically rebooked on other flights.