Severe thunderstorms possible today and tonight in Evansville, Henderson areas

The city of Evansville needs more rain about as much as it needs another stoplight, but Mother Nature's going ahead with the wet summer plans, anyway.

The National Weather Service said showers and thunderstorms are likely Wednesday afternoon and that there's a slight risk for severe storms, as well. Large hail, damaging winds, tornadoes and heavy rain are all concerns for forecasters.

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for most of the Evansville/Henderson Tri-State area until 9 p.m. CDT.

In a graphic posted to its website, the weather service lists 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. as the most likely time for severe weather in Southwestern Indiana and most of Western Kentucky.

A second round of severe weather later at night is also possible.

The weather service already hoisted a flash flood watch for Southwestern Indiana and a large swath of Southern Illinois, where heavy rains have already been a problem over the past week.

It's been a wet year in Evansville, where the official precipitation tally for 2019 is already at 34.89 inches, more than a foot above the normal total of 22.66 inches for this date. The rain has caused headaches for farmers trying to get crops planted, and has washed out roads in some areas.