By rssfeeds-admin 
Several inches of rain dropped on parts of Northwest Indiana, one homeowner telling WGN-TV they haven’t seen flooding like this in decades. Some roads were nearly impassable at the height of the storms overnight, and standing water was still visible early Tuesday morning.
There were also reports of flooded basements and people trapped inside their vehicles before the floodwaters receded.
Flood Warnings and Flood Watches were issued throughout Monday night and Tuesday morning by the National Weather Service for parts of Northeast Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
Visit the NWS website to check on any alerts pertaining to flooding that remain in effect.
Whiting schools, refinery affected
WGN-TV received the following photos of flooding in Whiting:
The City of Whiting sent out a statement to families that its schools would operate on a two-hour delay Tuesday morning “to ensure the safety and well-being of all students and staff as conditions improve.” Doors opened at 9:45 a.m., with K-12 students starting at 10 a.m. and morning pre-K sessions canceled for the day.
Additionally, the Whiting Refinery in the 2800 block of Indianapolis Boulevard — BP’s largest oil refinery — had its operations impacted by the storms and the flooding in surrounding neighborhoods.
The refinery issued the following statement Tuesday morning:
“Response and operations crews are on-site to manage impacts from these storms.
“Materials are being burned in the flares to maintain safe operations. Further, we are aware of reports of odors in the neighboring community and are responding. Due to a sheen on 121st Street in Whiting, the street is closed to traffic and the public between Schrage Ave. and Front St. Our crews are also managing this situation.
“Whiting Refinery has detailed weather protection plans in place to handle these types of conditions and have been executing those plans from last night through this morning. Our top priority is the safety of our employees, contractors, and the community and the environment. We will continue to monitor weather conditions closely and are prepared to respond as necessary.”
Flooding in Hammond
Several streets remain closed in Hammond on Tuesday morning due to heavy flooding, police said in an update.
The Hammond Police Department released the following statement:
“We are asking all drivers to please follow posted detour routes and obey all traffic control signs, barricades, and other regulatory devices in place.
“These safety measures are there to protect you and others. Do not attempt to drive around barricades or through standing water — it only takes a few inches of moving water to disable your vehicle or sweep it off the roadway.
“Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us keep Hammond safe!”
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the city has received more than 8 inches of rainfall since Sunday, including 5 inches in less than 24 hours from the latest round of storms.
“This was an extremely rare, ‘monsoon-like’ storm that overwhelmed every part of our storm water system,” McDermott said in a statement.
The mayor’s statement continued, in part:
“At the peak of the storm, our plant saw flows of 160 million gallons — more than twice its design capacity of 68 million gallons. Our CSO basin was discharging at over 500 million gallons per day during the height of the storm, and even (Tuesday) we continue releasing water from the basin at a rate of 80 million gallons per day. Every pump at every station was running continuously throughout the storm.
“In Robertsdale, our staffed pump station is still operating at maximum capacity as Whiting’s retention basin overflowed, sending even more water into Hammond — something that has only happened twice in memory. All other stations are now returning to normal operations. I know many residents experienced flooded basements and backups, and I want to express my heartfelt sympathy for the damage and disruption this has caused.”
Estimated rainfall totals
As the estimated rainfall map below shows, heavy rain was concentrated overnight in Northwest Indiana, right near the Illinois border, with an estimated 6.5 inches falling near East Chicago.
A Flood Warning or Flood Advisory remains in effect for multiple areas of Chicagoland on Tuesday. Follow the NWS and WGN’s Weather Alerts Page for updates.
Around Chicagoland
Here are some of the other impacts seen around Chicagoland both from the weekend storms and the storms that rolled through overnight Monday into Tuesday:
Oswego East HS virtual
Oswego East High School in the southwest suburbs transitioned to e-learning both Monday and Tuesday due to what it says are “ongoing cleaning and repairs from the storm damage.”
Metra delays
Union Pacific Northwest inbound and outbound Metra trains were stopped between Jefferson Park to Cary due to high wind warnings from 4:45 p.m. until 5:45 p.m. Monday.
Ground stops at Chicago airports
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for O’Hare International Airport just before 4 p.m. Monday, which lasted until 5:30 p.m.
Flights at Midway International Airport were grounded just after 4 p.m. Monday and also lasted until 5:30 p.m.
Overflow Action Day
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District issued an Overflow Action Day during the storms, asking residents to minimize their water usage to help reduce flooding.
The MWRD asked residents to:
- Put off running the dishwasher.
- Delay or reduce shower times.
- Wait to wash clothes in the washing machine.
- Flush less.
These requests were made to ensure sewers don’t get backed and cause flooding into streets and basements.
Cubs game postponed
The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers were set to play a day-night doubleheader Monday at Wrigley Field, but the night game was postponed due to the storms.
Instead, a day-night doubleheader is now scheduled for Tuesday, with the makeup game from Monday at 1:20 p.m. and the originally scheduled game at 7:05 p.m.
State of emergency in Cary
The Village of Cary in the northwest suburbs declared a state of emergency Monday from this past weekend’s storms, which prompted its fire department to respond to dozens of calls.
Will stormy weather continue?
Between this weekend’s storms and the storms that came through Monday night into Tuesday morning, Chicagoland has seen its share of heavy rainfall and unsettled late-summer weather in recent days.
But it looks like we’re past the worst of it, for now.
Tuesday morning has opened warm and humid again, with some showers still lingering, but the forecast calls for cooler and much drier conditions to settle in later this week. And that pattern of cooler and drier air looks to remain around Chicagoland for the near future.
Visit the WGN Weather Page for all the forecast details.
Discover more from RSS Feeds Cloud
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.