Weather service warns of slight flooding risk on Des Plaines, DuPage, Fox rivers

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for the next few days for parts of Lake County and Will County. Affected areas along the Des Plaines River in Lake County include Gurnee and Russell, with Royce Road in Bolingbrook under alert along the east branch of the DuPage River in Will County.

Police in Gurnee and Bolingbrook had not been notified of any flooding affecting roadways as of Saturday morning.

Yet the National Weather Service forecast that the Des Plaines River was expected to rise to 7.5 feet for possible low-level flooding near Gurnee by Saturday afternoon (the official flood stage is 7.0 feet). Warnings remain in effect until Tuesday evening.

In Russell, minor flooding was reported with a forecast of the Des Plaines River rising to near 7.7 feet by Sunday morning. The river is expected to fall below flood stage (7.0 feet) by early Thursday morning.

"There's rain in the forecast for Monday and Tuesday," said Charles Mott, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "But at this point, the forecast has the rivers going down even on those days."

The National Weather Service also warned that the Des Plaines River was near flood stage in Lincolnshire, Des Plaines, and Niles, as was the Fox River near Montgomery and Yorkville.

As a precautionary measure, drivers encountering flooded roadways are advised to turn around and find alternate routes.