The rain is back. Will O'Hare flood again?
With more rain expected this week, should travelers pack kayaks in case a repeat of Labor Day's deluge stalls cars en route to O'Hare International Airport again?
Intense storms flooded both directions of I-190 near Mannheim Avenue Monday afternoon, causing some people to grab their luggage and walk. The downpour also soaked the insides of various O'Hare terminals.
This is the second time in four years water has blocked I-190, the artery to O'Hare, although it was a power outage that caused a flooding situation in 2014.
Lightning shouldn't strike thrice, Chicago Department of Aviation and Illinois Department of Transportation officials predicted.
There's "nothing to indicate a systemic problem," IDOT spokesman Guy Tridgell said. "Extreme, torrential rain in a very short period of time caused flash flooding in a few spots in that general area, not just on I-190.
"All drainage systems on I-190 were unimpeded and working as designed. All of the water drained and the road was passable after about 45 minutes. At this time, we consider it an isolated occurrence, but will monitor as needed."
The road opened about 3:35 p.m. Monday, Tridgell said.
At O'Hare, the rain and lightning caused airlines to cancel more than 400 flights while some departures were delayed more than 90 minutes.
"In just one hour, O'Hare was hit with a third of the total rainfall the airport receives throughout the entire month of September," aviation department spokeswoman Karen Pride said Tuesday. "The significant and heavy rain caused flooding at the airport. O'Hare is fully operational today and airline partners continue working to help get passengers to their destinations."
The National Weather Service said 1.45 inches of rain fell in the O'Hare area Monday afternoon; the normal precipitation level for September is 3.21 inches.
The department of aviation is inspecting buildings to see how water leaked in and to prevent that in the future.
Lightning strikes near O'Hare Monday caused American Airlines to shut down its outdoor operations temporarily to keep employees working on the airfield safe, spokeswoman Leslie Scott said.
The airline didn't charge passengers delayed by the flooding rebooking fees. In such situations, "we're flexible, we realize it's out of their control. Thankfully on Monday we didn't have to do a ton of rebooking. ... Because of the rain there were a lot of late flights and we were able to accommodate people on their originally booked flights."
Flyers delayed on their way to the airport can reach out to American using social media or just do it the old-fashioned way, she said.
"We have a fully staffed social media team that does rebookings (on Twitter at @AmericanAir). But sometimes, the easiest thing is to do it at the airport."
On the morning of July 1, 2014, stormwater collected and blocked lanes on I-190 near O'Hare after a power failure knocked out a pump station. Numerous passengers exited their cars and hoofed it to the airport until snowplows cleared out the water.
The issue Monday was totally different, Tridgell said, adding "this is not an area that the department would consider susceptible to flooding."