Storms sweep through suburbs

Heavy rains Sunday caused havoc on Chicago area roadways, caused more than 450 flights to be canceled, sparked roof fires, delayed graduations and has rivers at their tipping points.

The storms that passed through the area may have cleared the way for a scorching and sunny Memorial Day as temperatures are expected to reach into the 90s, according to meteorologists.

Residents in some towns may not be able to cool off at public pools, as many remain closed due to a nationwide safety recall of about 1 million pool drain covers.

The Neuqua Valley High School graduation was delayed Sunday when the College of DuPage gymnasium where it was being held was evacuated about 1 p.m. due to the severe weather.

The evacuation was one-third complete when the weather improved enough that people were told they could return to their seats.

Lightning strikes early Sunday afternoon sparked at least three house fires in the Chicago suburbs that forced the residents to find temporary housing.

The storm started fires on the roofs of residences in Long Grove, Naperville and Vernon Hills.

Travelers in and out of Chicago airports were facing delays of up to three hours due to the storm, and more than 450 flights were canceled out of O’Hare.

The delays continued into the night, as both Midway and O’Hare continued to report lengthy delays, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Travelers are urged to check with their airlines for the latest flight information this morning.

The DuPage County Memorial Day observance ceremony, meanwhile, had to be moved inside the county’s administration building in Wheaton so it could start at its scheduled time of 2 p.m.

At one point Sunday afternoon, ComEd was reporting 20,500 were without power due to downed power lines and tree limbs that had fallen on wires.

Roads across the suburbs were heavily flooded due to the downpour, which was measured at more than an inch of rain in a 15-minute period, according to the National Weather Service.

Officials said many retention ponds across the suburbs were filled to capacity and were overflowing onto roadways forcing road closures.

More than 3 inches of rain was measured in portions of Kane County and close to 2 inches fell in areas of Cook and DuPage counties, according to meteorologists.

A flood warning continued through the night Sunday as the Des Plaines River and Fox River were beyond their flood stage.

The National Weather Service anticipates the Des Plaines River to continue to rise until this morning.

The Dundee Township Memorial Day parade was rained out for the first time in its 70-year history, and in Streamwood, the storms forced a Memorial Day service to move inside for only the second time in its 20-year history.

The Streamwood public works department managed to relocate the entire setup of a stage, audio equipment and chairs to village hall in about 15 minutes.

“We have super good weather every year,” public works employee Peter Zimnoch said.

“But this wasn’t a shock because of the weather we have had in the last week, or the past month. We were prepared for a large crowd.”