Gurnee flood watchers breathe sigh of relief
Officials in Gurnee breathed a huge sigh of relief Tuesday while their counterparts in Fox Lake stayed in a holding pattern waiting for high waters to rush in from Wisconsin.
A storm that was expected to produce an additional inch of rain Monday night moved south and missed the area.
Officials say that had the storm cell hit, widespread flooding would have occurred on the Des Plaines River, the Fox River and the Chain O' Lakes.
Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said volunteers who showed up early Tuesday to help fill sandbags were sent home when it was determined they were not needed.
Emergency crews, however, remained at Gurnee Grade School on Kilbourne Road to keep a close eye on the rising water. Kilbourne and Emerald Drive are always the first areas to flood in Gurnee, Kovarik said.
The National Weather Service predicted the Des Plaines River would crest at 2 feet over flood stage Tuesday night. That's not high enough to damage property.
Had it rained, the river would have swelled an additional 6 inches to a foot and flooded homes and the grade school.
"We are absolutely breathing a sigh of relief this morning," Kovarik said Tuesday. "But, the important thing is that we can mobilize quick, we have a good plan in place and we can move and protect homes quickly."
Determining how bad it could get on the Chain is more difficult, officials said.
Rita Lee, a hydraulic engineer with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said the lakes and Fox River will rise over the next couple of days as high water rushes in from Wisconsin. But she said there are too many variables to determine how much.
"It's safe to say it will rise through the weekend, but that it will not get as high as it did last August," she said. "There also will be some properties in low-lying areas that will get water, so I would recommend people in low-lying areas prepare to sandbag as a precaution."
On Monday afternoon in Fox Lake and Antioch, water levels had reached the point where lawns were under water and some streets were drenched, but homes were safe -- at least for the time being.
Ed Lescher, head of Fox Lake's Emergency Services Disaster Agency, said the water will get higher. But he expects the lakes to swell only about another foot over in the next four days.
"It should get into some homes in low-lying areas around Saturday, but we are doing OK right now," he said. "Basically, it all depends on how much water is coming in from Wisconsin and the amount of rain that falls between now and then."
The National Weather Service has predicted the Fox River in New Munster will crest Thursday at 3 feet above flood stage. It takes about 36 hours for that water to hit the Chain O' Lakes.
The Chain is 6 inches over flood stage. Lescher estimated that without any additional rainfall the Chain could rise to about 18 inches over flood stage on Saturday. He said homes surrounding the Chain become damaged at about a foot over flood stage.
"So, right now, we are on hold and have sandbags available to anyone who calls and requests them," he said. "But as long as the rain stays away between now and Saturday, we should be all right."
The National Weather Service is predicting no rain will fall until Sunday, and that there is only a 30 percent chance of rain then. The forecast says the next significant rainfall shouldn't take place until Tuesday.