Soggy weather not making rivers flood (yet), but what about yards?
While much of northern Illinois feels waterlogged due to recent rain and snow, officials said there's no imminent threat of major river and lake flooding — at least for now.
What does exist is the possibility for “urban flooding,” where lawns become saturated and sump pumps tend to fail, officials said.
“Things are starting to fill up and spill into people's yards,” said Bob Gardiner, a permit engineer from Lake County Stormwater Management. “This means sump pumps will need to work harder to keep the water out.”
Flooding on the Fox River, the Chain O' Lakes and the Des Plaines River could be problematic should rain eclipse the 1-inch forecast through Thursday.
“I think we can make it through without flooding if we only get another inch of rain,” said Rita Lee, a water resources engineer from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “But, that would fill up our water storage areas on the Chain O' Lakes. If we get another inch after, there could be some concerns.”
Gardiner said urban flooding is more of a concern if thunderstorms materialize into Wednesday because the ground is wet, depressions are filling up and sump pumps have been running for a couple of days.
“It's not a huge event or anything, but it can be problematic,” he said.
Kevin Birk, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said the Des Plaines and Fox rivers look to be handling the water at this point, despite certain areas receiving up to 5 inches of snow Saturday and an additional 2 to 3 inches of rain since Monday.
The late-April snowfall resulted in less than an inch of water saturating the ground, Birk said. The snow ratio for the weekend storm was about 6-to-1, meaning it would take 6 inches of snow to equal about 1-inch of rain, he explained.
Some areas along the Des Plaines and Fox rivers are seeing higher-than-normal water levels, but any potential flooding at this point is expected to be minor, Birk added.
According to the National Weather Service river forecast prediction website, Des Plaines River levels are expected to crest Wednesday about 2 inches over flood stage in Des Plaines, but about 18 inches below the point of minor flood damage. Des Plaines River levels are well below flood levels at data recording points in Gurnee, Lincolnshire and on Russell Road, the website shows.
Fox River water levels in New Munster, Wisconsin, will top out about 6 inches above flood stage, but about 6 inches below the point where minor flooding begins, according to the website. Downstream in Algonquin, water is expected to crest at 6 inches above minor flood levels Thursday and to reach some yards on Grove Street near Valley View and in Holiday Hills, data shows.
Birk said the area is expected to see showers and thunderstorms on-and-off Wednesday before easing late Thursday afternoon.