The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning in effect from 5:26 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 26.
Slow-moving thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall are traveling across northern Cook County, which had already gotten more than three inches of rain as of 5:30 a.m., according to a bulletin from the weather service.
Flash flooding is predicted in Evanston, as well as Algonquin, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Fox Lake, Gages Lake, Glencoe, Glenview, Grayslake, Gurnee, Harvard and Highland Park.
Evanston utilities director Dave Stoneback said the city had recorded 1.5" of rainfall as of 7:22 a.m. The rain gauge in Wilmette recorded 1.87" of rain and the North Side District plant at Howard and McCormick had recorded 2.13" of rain, according to Stoneback.
He said the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's "Deep Tunnel," which collects excess sanitary and storm sewer flows, was fairly empty, meaning residents are unlikely to experience basement flooding.
"Street flooding will be our biggest issue," Stoneback said, due to the fact that leaves and grass clippings often block street level sewer grates during the summer.
"Crews are driving around cleaning debris off the grates," he said. "Standing water in the street is anticipated as the restrictors in the drainage structures slowly release storm water into the combined sewer system."
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