Chicago Hits October Rainfall Record As Storms Pound Area
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Record rainfall Saturday triggered a flash flood warning as heavy rains and thunderstorms moved through the Chicago area.
The flash flood warning affected the Chicago area, as well as Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Boone, DeKalb, La Salle, Ogle and Winnebago counties, according to the National Weather Service.
On Sunday, a flood warning covering much of the area remained in effect until 11:45 a.m., the weather service said. Scattered pockets of the area remained under flood warning or flood advisory on Sunday afternoon.
The showers Saturday poured 4.19 inches of rain on O'Hare International Airport, marking the wettest October day in the city in recorded history, forecasters said.
The rainfall caused the Chicago River to overflow its downtown banks and submerge most of the popular Chicago Riverwalk.
As a precautionary measure, Chicago Police taped off several entryways between Franklin Street all the way east to Lake Michigan as the city's iconically greenish river spilled over most of the scenic walkway. As of Sunday afternoon, the entryways remained closed as police waited for the water to recede.
White initial rain estimates from Saturday are one of the wettest October days on record for much of Northern Illinois, the suburbs took some of the hardest hits, including Naperville, Bolingbrook, Lisle and Lake Zurich.
The Lake Zurich Fire Department responded to a reported residential structure fire Saturday evening, after the house was hit by lighting. The home is uninhabitable and sustained approximately $100,000 in fire related damage, officials said.
Sunday's forecast calls for patchy drizzle during the day, as well as cloudy and breezy conditions with a high temperature of 53 degrees, the weather service said. At night, partly cloudy conditions are expected with a low around 43 degrees and wind gusts up to 20 mph.
The rainfall was expected to stop for the rest of the week, the weather service said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2017. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
