Des Plaines escapes major flooding; black ice plagues suburbs
High water and black ice accidents continued to plague the Chicago area today, but overall, flooding damage was relatively minor and water was beginning to recede as the weather improved.
The Des Plaines River peaked at 7.3 feet at 6 a.m. today in Des Plaines, the National Weather Service reported. While 2.3 feet above flood stage, that was well below the record of 10.9 feet.
Only one road, Campground Road, was closed. The river is expected to remain above flood stage until Wednesday for portions of the Des Plaines River in Cook and Lake Counties. Parts of the Fox River also were above flood stage.
More than 12 accidents were called in throughout Lake County early Monday, with a large portion of them attached to Route 12 through Wauconda, Lake Zurich, and Hawthorn Woods.
There were also incidents at Grand Avenue and Route 59 near Lake Villa, Route 176 and Main Street in Wauconda, and a rollover accident on Milwaukee Avenue near Gurnee.
The black ice was mostly gone by the end of rush hour.
The Chicago area is expected to stay rain- and snow-free over the next few days as parts of the suburbs continue to dry out from a Saturday rainstorm that left streets closed and basements flooded.
Officials in Gurnee were expecting to have the river crest at about 8 feet today - more than a foot above flood stage, but not high enough to cause any flooding in the village, officials said.
Several DuPage County roads were under water Sunday, but a county spokesman said the waters aren't expected to give commuters trouble during the week.
Elgin Battalion Chief Tim Michaels said the Old Oaks mobile home park on southeast corner of Elgin experienced minor flooding due to elevated water levels from Poplar Creek. There were about 10 evacuations from the area and most stayed with relatives and did not require much of a response from fire personnel, Michaels said.
Walton Island, situated in the Fox River, is closed to the public for safety reasons, he said.
Michaels was expecting much worse from the thawing mountains of snow.
"We kind of geared up for a measured response and it never really became a major issue," Michaels said. "Everything kind of settled back down, the water seems to be draining away and there doesn't seem to be as much need for emergency service."
With the flood threat receding, Des Plaines public works crews have turned their attention to salting icy areas and patching potholes. Community development personnel are doing damage assessments. Cleanup kits are available in the city hall Lobby, 1420 Miner St.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=260821">Images from the weekend's floods </a></li> </ul> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://www.accuweather.com/forecast-details.asp?partner=9612&traveler=0&zipcode=60666&metric=0&fday=1" class="mediaItem">Latest Forecast</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/" class="mediaItem">National Weather Service outlook</a></li> <li><a href="http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=lot&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=no" class="mediaItem">National Weather Service radar</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.metrarail.com/Service_Updates/" class="mediaItem">Metra service advisories</a></li> <li><a href="http://wrc.gettingaroundillinois.com/winterroadconditions" class="mediaItem">Road conditions</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.gcmtravel.com/gcm/maps_chicago.jsp" class="mediaItem">Traffic conditions</a></li> <li><a href="http://63.135.96.26/water_level/main.cfm" class="mediaItem">Fox River and Chain o' Lakes water levels </span></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=lot" class="mediaItem">NWS Regional flooding map</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>