A flash flood warning has been issued for a swath of the Chicago area, with the National Weather Service cautioning that parts of some expressways could become impassable due to high water.
That warning includes southern Cook County in Illinois and parts of Lake County in northwest Indiana. Communities like Oak Forest, Blue Island, Harvey and Hammond are all included in the warned area.
According to officials, rainfall rates of up to three inches per hour are occurring in that area, and concerns are growing for flash flooding around streams, creeks and on low-lying roads.
130th Street is closed in both directions between the Bishop Ford Expressway and Torrence Avenue, according to Total Traffic.
The heavy rain is also causing heavy traffic in lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway and the Bishop Ford, according to officials.
The heavy rain is also causing flooding issues on Interstate 57 between the Dan Ryan Expressway and 127th Street, with lanes on the outbound side of the highway blocked by standing water.
NWS officials are cautioning that parts of the Dan Ryan Expressway, the Bishop Ford, the Chicago Skyway and Interstate 57 could flood due to “stationary, torrential, tropical downpours.”
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The heavy rain is expected to continue for several hours as more moisture from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl pushes through the area.
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In fact, the showers and embedded thunderstorms could last into Wednesday morning, raising concerns for additional flooding on area roadways.
In anticipation of the heavy rain, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District issued an Overflow Action Alert, asking Chicago-area residents to conserve water and to delay taking showers, using washing machines and other machines that use large amounts of water.
That is being done in an effort to keep excess water out of sewer systems, which can back up and flood neighborhoods in the region.
