'Fast-moving' storm floods Coles County Tuesday evening

During the storm, wind speeds of 71 mph were recorded at Coles County Memorial Airport, Ensign said. He described that as "on the verge of a tornado" but said there were no tornado or funnel cloud sightings.

Ensign said the storm was "fast moving" and there were no watches or advisories issued before the warnings.

Streets including Wabash, Broadway and Richmond avenues in Mattoon were flooded in some locations Tuesday evening, leaving street and fire crews to deal with standing water and blocked traffic.

Ensign said Mattoon and the western side of the county received the heaviest of the rain and the worst of the flooding.

Hail was also reported just ahead of the rain in some outlying areas of the county, including quarter-sized hail near the intersection of Illinois Route 130 and Westfield Road southeast of Charleston, he also said.

Still, Charleston and the east side of the county didn't see the heavy rain that Mattoon received, according to Cameron Craig, climatologist with the Eastern Illinois University weather center.

There was just less than 1.9 inches of rain measured at the weather center, located in the southern area of the EIU campus, Craig said. But he was certain Mattoon's total was more because it was "in the center of the cell."

Craig said the storm "started to fall apart" once it reached the central part of Coles County.

The storm cell developed around Decatur and rain was "long-lived" because a stationary front slowed its progress, he said.

The day's heat and ground moisture combined to cause the heavy rainfall, which lasted about 30 minutes, Craig also said.