Afternoon, night storms cause damage, flooding, outages in Chicago area
Multiple rounds of storms pounded the Chicago area Monday afternoon and evening — prompting tornado and flash flood warnings, and causing flight and commuter train delays, power outages, and other problems.
The lumbering storm system that began pounding around 8 p.m. brought more heavy rain and cloud-to-ground lightning.
Numerous flash flood warnings were in effect Monday night throughout the Chicago area. A flash flood warning remained in effect for Cook County from the downtown Chicago area on south, and northern Will County, well into the night. Flash flood warnings were also in place for parts of Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.
The greatest rainfall totals were reported near the I-39 corridor in DeKalb County, with up to 7.1 inches in the southwest part of the county.
Roads were left flooded around the area. A total of 1 to 1.5 feet of standing water was reported at the intersection of Naper Boulevard and 87th Street in Naperville. Around a foot of water was on roads encroaching on driveways in surrounding neighborhoods, and at least 6 inches of flowing water was on the road at Arlington Avenue and River Woods Drive in Naperville.
At least 6 inches of water were also seen under the railroad overpasses in Mokena.
In Genoa, Illinois, in northern DeKalb County, ComEd crews were out trying to repair power lines pulled down by the storm. In other places, the storm brought down massive trees, splitting some at the base.
In Indiana, the East Chicago Harbor area near Dickey and Reilly roads and the steel mills was flooded and closed. Hammond, Indiana, also reported many roads closed due to flooding — Indianapolis Boulevard at 128th Street had about 3 feet of water and was closed to traffic.
The Hammond Sanitary District reported dozens of calls of flooded basements, with Hammond and surrounding communities having seen more than 6 inches of rainfall in 24 hours.
The Gary Fire Department said it was also receiving reports of people driving through flooded streets and getting stuck, but nothing life-threatening was reported.
ComEd reported a total of 457 outages affecting 8,730 customers Monday night. Meanwhile, the entirety of Ogden Dunes, Indiana, appeared to be without power.
The squalls passing through Chicago and Northwest Indiana were not the last for the night. Yet another squall was headed for LaSalle County around the same time.
A flood watch remains in effect for northeastern and north central Illinois through the late night.
Earlier Monday storms prompt tornado warning
An earlier first round of storms prompted a tornado warning in Kane County near the beginning of afternoon rush. During the tornado warning, rotation was seen in Pingree Grove, and a funnel cloud was spotted in the Hampshire and Huntley areas around 4 p.m.
Air raid sirens also went off for the tornado warning in Elgin as ominous clouds were seen over Sherman Hospital on Randall Road. Sirens were also heard in Rosemont near O'Hare International Airport.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were also issued from west to east as the earlier system pounded its way along.
During the earlier storms, Metra Union Pacific Northwest stops were halted between Jefferson Park and Cary during the Monday evening rush due to the high winds. Union Pacific West trains were also stopped between Chicago and West Chicago, and BNSF trains were delayed due up to 35 minutes due to strong winds.
Ground stops were also issued at O'Hare and Midway international airports. They were later lifted.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs postponed their game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field Monday evening. The game, the second of a doubleheader, had been set to start at 7:05 p.m. and will be made up with a doubleheader on Tuesday.
In addition to the damaging winds, flooding was also a major concern. Well ahead of the storms Monday, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago issued an overflow action day alert for Monday, saying McCook Reservoir was currently approximately 91% full.
Officials asked people to conserve water during the storms by delaying showers or baths, flushing their toilets less frequently and waiting to un their dishwasher or washing machine until after the rain is over. The additional water flowing from homes into the sewer system can exacerbate flooding during heavy downpours from storms.
Aurora worked to clean up before new storms arrived
In Aurora on Monday afternoon, city crews tried to clean up significant damage from earlier the storms this past weekend before the new round of severe weather moved in on Monday.
Aurora Public Works crews said they had been working nonstop since Saturday. They reported having more than 350 tickets for all types of downed trees — and with some jobs bigger than others, crews said they would not be getting through even half of those by the end of the day.
Chainsaws have gone through 100 trees, while other trees got sent through wood chippers after the heavy rain and wind plowed through the area over the weekend.
Colleen Hefke was one of the many homeowners in West Aurora who dealt with tree branches down on her property.
"I just can't believe it," Hefke said. "I drove around this morning, and it's insane."
Hefke said a huge part of the tree in her backyard came down into her back patio. Still, she thinks they got lucky in that it did not come down on the house.
"Absolutely lucky, 100% lucky," said Hefke. "Could have been bad."
Most of the damage happened in West Aurora, but some damage was also spotted on the east side of the Fox River—including one tree that fell on a house near Union and Spring streets.
Aurora city crews have been working 16-hour rotating shifts since Saturday afternoon. They said as of Monday afternoon, they were only about 40% done.
"We probably have about, I would say, close to 40 to 50 guys on the street; tree crews —we've got about I would say around six to seven tree crews; and then all the other guys, though, are in pickup trucks, five-yard dump trucks, just loading stuff up that they can do by hand, and taking it to a remote site to dispose of," said labor supervisor and certified arborist Nicholas DeLeon.
Crews said they were working late Monday to determine what tickets are the highest priority, and what tickets they can come back for later.
Ahead of the storms Monday night, Aurora crews said they would keep working until the rain hit, and stop when necessary.
"Just trying to take it tree by tree, keep going," said Deleon. "If we can do it before the elements hit, you know, when that time comes, we'll figure out a plan then. It's not going to slow us down right now."
How to prepare for possible flooding
The NWS wants to help you protect your home ahead of heavy downpours that can lead to flooding. Here are steps you can take:
- Move valuable items from flood-prone areas like basements and outdoor areas with poor drainage
- Remove debris from nearby storm drains
- Know alternate routes for travel in case roadways flood
- Find higher ground in the event of flooding