Heavy weekend rain triggers some flooding along Fox, Des Plaines, DuPage rivers
Heavy weekend rain that dumped more than 4 inches on parts of northern Illinois has lake and river water levels on the rise, but the bigger focus is on the coming days to determine if the wet weather was merely an annoyance or will evolve into something worse.
Flooding along the DuPage, Des Plaines and Fox rivers, and the Chain O' Lakes was characterized as minor-to-moderate Monday by National Weather Service officials. Water spilled onto some roads, parks and grassy areas, with portions of the Naperville Riverwalk, Route 53 in Lisle, and Island Park in Geneva among the areas where flooding was most visible.
Meteorologist Matt Friedlein said water levels on some rivers are still rising, but those in the northern part of the region are cresting. Things are expected to dry out Tuesday and Wednesday, Friedlein said, but could get a bit sketchy later in the week.
That's when more rain is forecast - heavier rain is expected south of Chicago, and light rain in the northern part of the state - but how that storm will track is still uncertain.
What is clear, Friedlein said, is the area's rivers "are vulnerable if we receive a major rain right now."
Major rain is what hit the region in recent days during a soggy weekend that included some heavy downpours. The highest two-day rainfall totals included 4.4 inches in Carol Stream, 4.05 inches in Glen Ellyn in DuPage County, 4.67 inches in North Aurora in Kane County, and 4.5 inches in the Naperville portion of Will County. More than 3 inches of rain was reported in several communities, including Arlington Heights and Lake Zurich.
That prompted a flood warning issued for residents along portions of the Des Plaines River after the water level crossed the 15-foot flood stage early Monday morning.
Officials estimate the river will top out at 15.7 feet in Des Plaines by Tuesday morning, about 8 inches over flood stage. The National Weather Service Advanced Hydraulic Prediction website has determined river water will reach some backyards on Big Bend Drive before the river crests and begins to recede.
The Fox River is expected to crest Wednesday in New Munster, Wisconsin, at about 1 foot over flood stage. That water will flow south to the Chain O' Lakes by Thursday, causing the system of lakes and rivers in northern Illinois to rise with it.
The added water could cause the Chain to overflow onto lawns in some traditionally flood-prone, low-lying areas of Fox Lake, such as Knollwood Park and Kings Island subdivisions, officials said. Currently, the water levels are barely contained by the banks of the Chain.
Fox Lake Mayor Danny Schmit said Lake County officials are watching Chain water levels, and hoping the rain doesn't return this week.
"We are good right now, but we are watching what happens in Wisconsin closely and planning for any eventuality," Schmit said. "If we need to sandbag, we are prepared."
Some of the harder hit areas were in DuPage County along the DuPage River. The National Weather Service says on its website the east branch of the DuPage River in Bolingbrook topped out about a half-foot over moderate flood stage. That was enough to close Royce Road between Route 53 and Greene Drive because of flooding.
The weekend's rainfall prompted DuPage County Stormwater Management to operate its major flood-control facilities Monday, along with several smaller, gravity-operated flood-control facilities.
The precipitation raised elevations in Salt Creek and the West Branch DuPage River enough to trigger operation of the Elmhurst Quarry, the Wood Dale-Itasca Reservoir, Fawell Dam in Naperville, Spring Creek Reservoir in Bloomingdale and the Armstrong Park Reservoirs in Carol Stream.
• Staff writers Robert Sanchez and Marie Wilson contributed to this report.