Flooding backed up traffic for miles on I-94 at Winnetka Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 23.
WINNETKA – Saturday’s storm hit Winnetka hard and the village is asking people to not drive through flooded streets or enter submerged basements. Those who need assistance should call the Police Department’s non-emergency number at 847-501-6034 — or in an emergency call 911.
During the evening of Saturday, July 23, the powerful thunderstorm that crashed through the North Shore and Chicago area impacted Winnetka and surrounding areas hard. In Winnetka alone between 5:40 and 7:10 p.m., in approximately 1 ½ hours, 2.75 inches of rain fell. This first wave of storms caused power outages and widespread flooding in the village. Another wave of strong storms in the late evening/early morning hours added an additional 2.4 inches of rain, for a total of just over 5 inches of rain from these combined events.
Village Public Works, Water & Electric, Police, and Fire Departments responded to calls for service during the storm and overnight. All village pump stations remained operational and fully functioning throughout these storms. Additional temporary pumps were deployed at the Winnetka Avenue pump station to pump down the ditches feeding this system. Once this system was relieved, a temporary pump was deployed to assist the Ash Street pump station.
Recently constructed stormwater improvements performed well in the areas of northwest and northeast Winnetka. The Village is currently assessing areas impacted by these storms. The storm rainfall from approximately 5:40 p.m. to 11 p.m. exceeded a 50-year storm event.
The village will schedule a special refuse collection to assist residents who experienced flooding damage. Please check the village’s website and e-news for further scheduling information.
To assist the village in making sure ongoing planning efforts bring relief to as many affect areas as possible, please send any photos, comments, or flooding descriptions to [email protected]
From the Village of Winnetka
