Storms bring heavy rains, flooding, cancel flights
Isolated storms created flash flooding and other hazards in the suburbs today.
Public Works Director Matt Barry said the initial storm hit the village about 1:30 p.m. and dropped about an inch of rain in about 30 minutes. By 4:15 p.m. the majority of the flooding had subsided, he said.
Heavy rain and flooding forced Wood Dale officials to cancel tonight's opening of Prairie Fest.
City officials in charge of the festival, which was scheduled to open at 6 p.m., said rain that blanketed the area in the early afternoon left the fest grounds flooded in several areas. Concern over the wet ground, particularly near the entrances and exits, prompted the decision to cancel the opening.
Officials said they will continue to monitor the weather and the state of the grounds to determine whether Prairie Fest can open on schedule at 6 p.m. Friday.
Officials said at about 4 p.m. that more than 265 flights had been canceled and airlines were reporting delays averaging 45 minutes at O'Hare International Airport. At Midway, 45 flights had been canceled and delays are averaging one hour.
ComEd reported sporadic outages across the suburbs. As of 4:45 p.m., ComEd reported more than 1,000 customers were without power across Cook, DuPage and Will counties, ABC 7 Chicago reported. ComEd officials said they were not sure if the outages were related to storms or heat.
ABC 7 Chicago also reported that a Berywn woman was seriously injured when she was struck by lightning while walking, Bolingbrook police said. Officers performed CPR on the scene and she was taken to a local hospital with severe burns, authorities said.
ABC's Storm Prediction Center said Chicago and suburbs to the north, west and southwest of the city are under a "marginal" risk of severe weather this afternoon and evening.
Additionally, the National Weather Service said the atmosphere is favorable for the development of funnel clouds over parts of northern Illinois, including Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Ogle, Lee and DeKalb counties.
The opening of Lollapalooza was temporarily delayed Thursday as storms passed through the downtown area around 11 a.m. The chance for rain is expected to wind down by 8 p.m., ABC 7 said.