CHAMPAIGN – Chris Wise spent weeks watching the corn in his fields wither in heat and drought. Friday, he hurried to save it from what could be weekend-long downpour across much of Illinois.

Forecasters say what’s left of Hurricane Isaac could pour up to 7 inches on drought-parched central Illinois, with smaller totals to the north and south.

As gray clouds moved over his farm south of Champaign, Wise drove a combine into a corn field, hoping to harvest what he could before rain left the ground too muddy for equipment.