Winter Storm Flooding Shuts Down Lakefront Roadways, Draws Adventurous People To Experience Nature

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Strong winds and damaging waves caused problems all along the lakefront Saturday, but also drew some adventurous souls who couldn't resist getting up close and personal with nature.

As CBS 2's Marissa Parra reported, South Shore Drive ended up flooded and had to be shut down.

But it was back open for business by 5 p.m. – thanks to a lot of efforts to drain the road and other flooded roads with lake water. Afterward, there were efforts to keep the water from coming back in with sand bags along the side of the street.

Parts of Lake Shore Drive also closed because of lake water going where it should not.

Crews redirected traffic – doing what they could to drain the streets and shielding themselves from the wind.

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As with Rogers Park on the opposite end of the city, South Shore saw major flooding creeping up on to the streets. Several east-west streets in the neighborhood have single-family homes and high-rises that come in close to the lake, and those streets were left flooded.

Twitter user Eric Allix Rogers posted photos showing East 72nd Street flooded more than 400 feet inland from the lake, floodwaters coming up to the bottom stairs of bungalows on 72nd Place, and more flooding on the lake alongside the South Shore Cultural Center.

Meanwhile, the crashing waves and flooding that didn't stop some curious Chicagoans form showing up.

A man and woman stood on a rock shoreline revetment and photographed the waves. When Parra asked the man, Bill, whether he was worried about getting blown into the water, he replied, "I'll just float."

They were not alone in their brazenness.

"Oh my, the most incredible waves I've ever seen in Chicago for sure," said Ezra Edgerton. "Kind of terrifying."

But such a view comes at a price. One boy, Brody Friend, had to put his jacket over his face.

Edgerton said he even saw someone try to go by on a bicycle, but it did not work out and the man turned right around.

With some waves topping 20 feet, the lake looked more like an ocean. And while the icy wind stripped the brazen souls of the ability to feel their faces, it didn't take their sense of humor.

Bill seemed to have tears coming out of his eyes, but he said, "That's OK, I'm just crying for Mother Nature, that's all!"

Edgerton said when he gets home, he is looking for, "warmth, dryness, food, (and) a face I can feel."

Meanwhile, the Department of Water Management said it had all hands on deck Saturday, braving the wind and rain so you don't have to.

In:
• South Shore
• DuSable Lake Shore Drive