'Floods overtake Chicago’s Northwest Side after rainiest April day since 2013: ‘People really got slammed’,' Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune: Water began pouring into David Tahara's North Park home Tuesday night around midnight, thanks to a late-breaking rainfall and a basement storm drain that smelled of sewage at certain points.

By daylight, the water had receded, but Tahara couldn't help but smell what he described as the lint-like residue as he and his wife swept the basement floor. Thankfully for Tahara, 82, he said his belongings were spared.

"It's been a long time since it's rained that hard, that steady," Tahara said.

Daily rainfall at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport reached 2.43 inches on Tuesday, making it the rainiest day in April since 2013, according to the National Weather Service.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Chicago had recorded over 9 inches of precipitation this season, making it the city's second-wettest spring on record, according to the University of Illinois State Water Survey.

A flood watch was in effect for several Illinois counties and northwest Indiana as the threat of storms continued through late Wednesday night, weather officials said.

The watch covered portions of Illinois counties including Boone, central Cook, DeKalb, eastern Will, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, northern Cook, northern Will, Ogle, southern Cook, southern Will and Winnebago as well as northwest Indiana, officials said.

A flash flood warning was also issued until 1 a.m. Thursday for Cook County, as officials cautioned creeks and streams might rise out of their banks, especially in urban areas with poor drainage.

Heavy rainfall this spring is intensifying the threat, said Illinois state climatologist Trent Ford.

"There's no doubt that the fact that it's been so wet up to now in March and April in the Chicagoland area reduces the capacity of the entire system to take in water," Ford said. "When we are this wet leading up to storms, less of that rain naturally is going to infiltrate, which means more of it's going to run off and it's going to end up in our rivers and streams. And that will continue to be an elevated risk as long as we have our wet soils."

Ford said persistently wet soil conditions across the state are limiting stormwater absorption, sending more runoff into major waterways such as the Des Plaines and Fox rivers and raising the likelihood of flash flooding.

Weather service officials said roads and streets might flood due to multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms expected through Wednesday evening. With already elevated soil moisture due to recent heavy rainfall, flash flooding was possible, officials said.

Accessed Wednesday morning via the city's data portal, the 311 service requests map showed nearly 300 complaints regarding water in basements were made to 311 starting around 10 p.m. Tuesday and continuing throughout Wednesday morning. The highest concentration of service requests - around 80 - came from the 41st Ward on the Northwest Side.

Over 260 complaints of water on streets were reported to 311 within the same time frame. Again, the greatest proportion of service requests came from the Northwest Side.

In urban areas, the conditions also heighten the risk of combined sewer overflows, when stormwater mixes with untreated sewage, said Allison Fore, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

She said northern areas of Cook County had received over 2 inches of rain, with more on the way. MWRD was tracking four possible combined sewer overflow events Wednesday in Skokie and northwest Chicago.

"It's pretty normal for stormwater to be dumped into streams, creeks, rivers, but there's a whole other health concern when we have that combined with sewage," Ford said. "So we see those as most problematic when we have really heavy rainfall events, or when we see the capacity of the (Tunnel and Reservoir Plan) system and other types of stormwater drainage systems across Chicagoland are at or near capacity."

City officials were urging residents to avoid contact with floodwater, which may be contaminated or contain hazardous debris.

Other dangerous weather expected Wednesday was damaging wind up to 70 mph and large hail up to half-dollar size.

Ford noted that spring storms often bring overlapping risks, but warned that potential power outages could worsen flooding. Sump pumps, which help remove groundwater from basements, rely on electricity to operate.

"If we do experience those types of severe weather events and power outages over the next few days, it does increase the risk of magnifying flooding impacts because of the power issue," he said.

Officials also cautioned residents to avoid flooded basements where electrical hazards may be present. Standing water can become electrically charged, particularly if it comes into contact with downed or underground power lines.

Residents were advised not to drive through flooded streets and to report flooding issues - such as water in basements, street flooding or viaduct flooding - by calling 311 or visiting the city's 311 website.

The National Weather Service forecast showers and thunderstorms on Wednesday evening, with gusts as high as 20 mph, and rainfall possibly reaching up to half an inch overnight.

Rena Grunfeld, 44, who has lived in her Northwest Side home since 2009, said the Tuesday night downpour caused water to back up in her basement, leaving her carpet soaked.

Grunfeld said she worked all Wednesday to clean it up and said some of her neighbors were dealing with "lakes" in their basements. One got about a foot of water in the basement, Grunfeld said, and all her son's belongings that he was packing for a trip abroad were laid out there.

"People really got slammed over here," Grunfeld said.

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