Isaac remnants dumping heavy rain across Missouri, Illinois

(REUTERS) - The remnants of Hurricane Isaac were grinding slowing northward early on Saturday with its centre now deep into Missouri and the heavy rain stretching for hundreds of miles east into Illinois amid reports of tornadoes and high winds, meteorologists said.

Drought-stricken areas of Missouri and Illinois were easily absorbing the rain on Friday and the system was expected to soak the region deep into Sunday, said Mr Jayson Gosselin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's St Louis-area office.

"We have gotten pretty widespread light to moderate rain that has piled up," Mr Gosselin said. "The rain is certainly going to help our drought situation up here."

Most places in the area were reporting 2.5cm to 7.5cm of rain by late on Friday and were expected to see up to 12.7cm of rain through Sunday, though some might see"upwards of 5, 6, 7 inches," Mr Gosselin said.