Rain Causes Flooding In Northern Illinois

NBC Chicago, WBBM & FirstHand Report,

[JustPiper]

The Kennedy Expressway at Lawrence Avenue was closed for three hours Sunday afternoon due to extreme flooding.

(Chicago)—As of 2:30, there are 5,200 people without power, most on the north side and north suburbs.

Power outages have been reported at: Irving and Oak Park Glencoe Vernon Hills Palatine Rolling Meadows Customer numbers reported out of power as of 1pm today: North Chicago 66 South Chicago 215 N E Suburbs 1200

I was on WBBM CBS radio with my firsthand experience. In my 50 years I've never seen anything like this storm. Our lawn was covered with hail from the size of peas to half dollar. We had Old Faithful spring leaks on the NW side of the city, geysers were popping out of every manhole.

The water came up from the street about 20 feet and was from 2-6 feet deep. Cars were getting stuck on my thoroughfares, but the funniest thing is pedestrians, including my daughter, Kinetic and her Dad. The only place you could walk were the alleys. For as far as the could see, all streets could not be crossed between the water flooding and the geysers.

The best thing was reminescent of all our historic snowstorms like in 66' and 77'. People were out by the dozens comparing flooded basements, talking, excited and boy, you just don't see that in this day and age!

Here are some pictures!

William Henning said he saw hail over an inch in diameter as severe storms hit Hanover Park

This SUV driver is undaunted by the nearly two feet of water that accumulated on this street.

Walking knee-high in rainwater was a unique experience

[JustPiper]

So was it a beautiful day in your neighborhood? ;)

[Brad’s Gramma]

POST THE PIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Brad’s Gramma]

Please?

[Brad’s Gramma]

Sweetie?

Heheeeeee

[JustPiper]

How did it do by our boy? CBS radio said it was the worse in my immediate area, not bad his way t'll.

[JustPiper]

I posted 3 but have to wait for the nets papers to come out ;)

[Brad’s Gramma]

He called this morning from downtown to tell me about the thunder and lightening. I talked to him later, and he didn't mention anything other than needing to go grocery shopping....leading me to believe he's fine.

Or silly for driving in it.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Oh....I meant the other one I freepmailed you. I'll do it.

Sorry...

[Brad’s Gramma]

Sears Tower...Friday I think.

[The Brush]

I thought I'd take advantage of the day and went to Navy Pier to see the tall ships....
Needless to say all I saw was tall standing water

[JustPiper]

How about this local freaky story?

Gnat invasion forces folks into swat team

By Gayle Worland and Grace Aduroja, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Dan McGrath contributed to this report

August 3, 2003

Normally, you can hardly spot them. But Saturday, you couldn't help but swat them.

From the stands at Wrigley Field to the sidewalks of Skokie, a swath of the Chicago area fell under siege Saturday from swarms of itty-bitty gnats hovering over heads, buzzing into beards and navigating into nostrils.

"The air looks like dots, dots, dots, because they are really small," said 8-year-old Nia Gray, bravely sucking on a pink lollipop as she and her mother visited the bug-blighted Rogers Park Jazz Series festival on North Sheridan Road. "It was very nasty, very creepy. People were swatting and swatting."

Rob Kleiman had swung into the parking lot of the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie with his wife and three children around 5 p.m. when they got more than they bargained for: gnats galore.

"We're talking billions and billions of these things," Kleiman said.

The good news is that gnats don't bite or carry disease and therefore don't pose a health hazard, said Tim Hadac, spokesman for the Chicago Health Department. "The bad news is that they're an extreme annoyance for people."

That was particularly true for fans at Saturday's Cubs game, where the third-largest crowd of the season saw more swats than bats in packed Wrigley Field. Players draped towels over their heads and shooed bugs from their jerseys.

Steve Lyons, broadcasting for Fox Sports, resorted to pulling his suit jacket over his head, and the Cubs' Moises Alou had to delay an at-bat when a gnat flew into his eye. By the 6th and 7th innings, hundreds of fans down the right-field line had abandoned their seats for the concourse.

Paul Rathje, director of stadium operations, promised to "do some fogging" Sunday morning before the next game.

Not everybody hates gnats. Birds, spiders and bats love them, said Philip Parrillo, collection manager in the Field Museum's insect division.

Parrillo started getting calls late last week about clouds of bugs along the lakefront. He suspects they're various species of gnats and midges, members of the fly family chironomidae, which start their life cycle as larvae in water.

"There's a tremendous flush of them this season," he said.

Although many speculated that the relatively cool, wet summer weather might be to blame, Parrillo said he couldn't be sure. Gnats generally hold their biggest "swarmfests" in the spring and fall, he said, when they are frantically dating, and mating, in midflight.

The bugs probably will stay near the lakefront, Parrillo said. "They're generally not long-distance fliers," he noted.

The females will return to the water to lay their eggs, and the adults will die within a few days, Parrillo said. But since new groups of gnats might emerge, one can't assume the midge mayhem is over.

"I grew up in Georgia," said Rogers Park resident Chris Adams, "and we had gnats all the time, but I can't remember it being this bad."

Adams and his wife, Tina-Marie, picked up their bikes at an Evanston bike shop Saturday afternoon, then rode home through the swarms.

"Kids were walking down the sidewalks with [paper] bags over their heads like the Unknown Comic," he said. "When we came back, we had to take a shower, because there were gnats in the hair on my arms, on my head, in my beard."

Operators at the Chicago 311 center were all abuzz with gnat reports streaming in from the North Side--some 250 to 300 calls in one day, said Ted O'Keefe of 311 City Services.

"Mosquitoes seem to get all the attention in the media because they carry disease," Hadac said. "Today, it's the gnats' turn."

Glad I went to Wicker Park/Bucktown last night ;)

[JustPiper]

Lightning strikes the Sears Tower and another building in downtown Chicago, during a severe thunderstorm. Storms blanketed much of northern Illinois on Friday, bringing tornado warnings and reports of hail, floods and power outages. The severe weather also locked up evening rush-hour traffic and delayed flights in and out of Chicago. (AP Photo/Stephen J. Carrera) Thanx to Brad's Gram for this. That lightening storm was phenomenal. I was outside right near downotown last night listening to the Spin Doctors and it was all around us, but did not rain until I got home ;)

[JustPiper]

I heard the crowd was huge, how kewl did those ships look?!

[JustPiper]

An Illinois Department of Transportation tow truck blocks the eastbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway at Milwaukee Avenue on Chicago's Northwest side, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2003, after an afternoon rainstorm flooded the underpass and shut down the expressway. (AP Photo/Allen Kaleta)

[The Brush]

The ships looked great, I paid to look at them all and saw one before I ran for home.
Of course they would have looked better with their sails up. I was going to suggest they raise the sails and drop anchor or tie up to the pier, that would make for some "interesting" video footage...

[Brad’s Gramma]

Say what you will about California......we don't "do" bugs like that.

Blech.
Ick.
Grooooooooooooossssssssssss.......


I'll call you-know-who and ask him about it. BRB

[Brad’s Gramma]

No one was hurt, were they?

[Brad’s Gramma]

He knew nothing about the gnats....but he WAS on the Kennedy today.

He said it was "crowded".

[JustPiper]

Storms bring heavy rain and flooding to Chicago

By Ben Bradley
August 3, 2003 — A torrential downpour hit the Chicago area as many people were enjoying their Sunday afternoon The gutters and storm drains could hardly keep up. The rain came up quickly and caught many people off guard. Without their umbrellas, many ran for cover. ComEd reported an estimated 20,000 customers, half of those in Chicago, were without power following the Sunday storms.

An ally near 18th & Paulina on the city's South Side, torn up for repaving, quickly flooded during the downpour. One man drove his station wagon into the water-covered ally and the car sank up to axel in mud.

Because crews had been working on the ally some of the pavement peeled away during the rain, which enabled the water to go rushing right into the lower level of a building.

Residents were bailing water by the bucket load, dumping it into the street until the building's ancient sewer system could catch up.

"It's been damaged from upstairs to the first floor. And we have equipment here," Nicandro Diaz said.

The water rushed in from the ally where city-sponsored construction work is only partially complete. "One day they touched the foundation or some part of the house, and because of that, with all of the rain and the storm, water went into my basement and now I have a flood in my basement," Carina Diaz said.

To his credit, an inspector from the city's building department was on the scene very quickly. He promised the families that he would look into how the city can help. They had a sump pump in the building, but it was overwhelmed by all the water that came rushing in from the ally.

The torrential downpours caused problems all over the city and suburbs. On the Kennedy Expressway near Wilson, the rain brought traffic to a stand still, with high-standing water closing several lanes.

In the northwest suburbs, wind whipped through a neighborhood festival toppling some tents and booths.

The weather also caused some slowdowns at Chicago's airports. At O'Hare flights were delayed up to 90 minutes. At Midway the delay was between 30 and 60 minutes

This has been a stormy summer for Chicagoans. The damage for some is taking its toll.

We had 3" + in about 55 minutes in my area! Will County is under a flashflood warning until 5am and yep this could repeat tomomorrow!