Crashing Waves From Weekend Winter Storm Leave Lakefront Path Ripped Up, Buildings Flooded
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A closer look emerged Sunday at the damage wreaked upon the Chicago area by the winter storm that struck a day earlier.
Concrete barriers were knocked over, and asphalt was left crumpled and fractured, after strong wind and storm surge brought enormous crashing waves on Lake Michigan.
As CBS 2's Steven Graves reported, the Lakefront Path remained closed on Sunday at the Ohio Street Beach – the very site where the asphalt was ripped into pieces.
Not all the danger is easy to see at first glance, but some people quickly realized travel was treacherous.
Also coating the concrete along the Ohio Street Beach lakefront path was ice.
"I came down here and it was very slippery, so I decided to turn around," one man said.
Chicago Police put barriers up along with signs reading, "Sidewalk closed," but that didn't stop runners and bikers from taking a chance. Some regretted it.
"I would not recommend it at all," the man said.
The Ohio Street Beach itself was also littered with debris.
Chicago Weather: An Isolated Wintry Mix For Sunday Night
It was the same farther up north in Lake Bluff. Sunrise Park remained closed after strong water twisted metal.
In Rogers Park, concrete barriers along the lake were knocked down, and the rebar stakes that were supposed to hold them in place got bent.
Waves got dangerously close to homes, particularly those that abut the lake along Eastlake Terrace north of Howard Street.
One parking garage turned into a pool and had to be pumped out. Some car owners were left with irreparable damage.
"We can park 27 cars in that particular garage," said Nate Jarvinen, who owns the condos alongside the garage. "There's five cars that are still there and one of them happens to be a Tesla."
Jarvinen said the garage was specifically built to prevent flooding. But it was no match for Mother Nature.
As many people picked up the pieces from Chicago's first big storm of the season, we also saw some city crews out Sunday cleaning up.
We asked Chicago Police on Sunday when areas of the lakefront could open back up. They said they are waiting for the word from the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
We also reached out to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office for a preliminary cost estimate for the damage left behind. They said those numbers will not be available until the end of the season.
