Illinois generally sees its hottest and wettest months during the summer, and climate change is making them more intense.
The University of Illinois Extension is getting the word out about what people can do to prepare, and also to make small changes to benefit the environment.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says the state's annual total rainfall amount rose by almost six inches between 1895 and 2019 - a 15% increase.
State Climatologist Trent Ford said Illinois' climate has become wetter over the last 150 years due to human-caused climate change.
Ford said he'd like to see more attention given to the effects of rain on the environment.
"All seasons across Illinois have gotten wetter," said Ford. "More importantly, the rain is becoming more intense, meaning it's falling heavier over a shorter period of time. What that can do is, it increases the amount of runoff over the ground and then also can create issues of soil erosion, nutrient runoff, and just overwhelm our natural streams and water drainage."
Ford spoke on a webinar in the "Everyday Environment" series that the University of Illinois Extension hosts on climate issues.
He said most flooding occurs because of rainstorms that happen outside of mapped floodplains.
And with more rainfall, he said predictions of where and how deep standing water will be are not always accurate.
Rain-induced flooding tends to be in places where people are unaware of flood risks, which means they generally don't have flood insurance.
With the increased likelihood of flooding, Ford said finding solutions will present a challenge.
"Municipalities upgrading stormwater drainage systems, especially in the most kind of areas of cities that are disproportionate impacts, which tend to be the most low-income areas of cities," said Ford. "So that becomes a justice problem as well."
He added that reducing soil erosion and nutrient loss on farmland is another key goal, which means implementing soil conservation practices.
And Ford said all these solutions require money, which may compete with legislators' priorities for school and road funding.
