No major flooding reported following Saturday's storms

A storm pelted Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois with chilling rain and wind Saturday, but no major flooding was reported.

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., said the rain came in spurts. "There has been quite a bit of rain over a large area," said meteorologist Pat Spoden.

An inch or more of rain was reported throughout the Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky region. A a total of 1.22 inches of rain fell at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport over the course of about 17 hours, Spoden said Saturday afternoon.

Area sheriff's departments said the weather didn't cause any serious flooding on city streets or county roads.

Temperatures topped out in the mid-40s Saturday. The forecast calls for high temperatures in the mid- to high 40s today through Tuesday.

The forecast called for wind gusts, reaching between 30 and 40 mph, Saturday night.

"Looks like the rivers will rise kind of slowly over the next couple of days," Spoden said. Even then, no flooding is expected, forecasters said.

Spoden said this region appears to have fared far better from the widespread winter storm than regions to the north and south.

Areas in Arkansas and Mississippi faced the potential of tornadoes while blizzard warnings were out in areas of northern Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.