Heavy holiday rain floods Naperville Riverwalk, shuts down river use

Rainstorms over the Fourth of July weekend caused the DuPage River to overflow its banks and flood the Naperville Riverwalk.

National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Kluber said that from Thursday night through Saturday, Naperville saw somewhere between 4 to 6.5 inches of rain throughout the city, with some areas experiencing more rainfall than others.

As a result of the storms, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced on social media Sunday that the East and West branches of the DuPage River were closed indefinitely to boaters because of swift currents, floating debris, submerged structures and high-water levels. The conditions pose a threat to boaters navigating the waters and emergency responders who may need to perform a rescue, the agency said.

A number of roadways were also reported to be flooded in Naperville due to the heavy rainfall. Some of those areas included West 87th Street and Lancaster Court, Ogden Avenue and Aurora Avenue, and Brookdale Road and Raymond Drive, according to Naperville city spokesperson Linda LaCloche.

Naperville canceled its Fourth of July fireworks show and pre-fireworks concert as a result of Saturday’s storms. It’s possible the events will be rescheduled for a later date.

Another round of showers and thunderstorms could be coming sometime Thursday afternoon or evening, Kluber said.

“We could see some heavy rain with this. There’s still some indication that maybe the substantial amount of this rainfall is closer to central Illinois versus northern Illinois,” he said.