CHICAGO — Friday’s severe storms swept through Chicagoland with heavy rain, travel delays, and flooding that left several neighborhoods underwater and critical infrastructure strained. As city crews raced to manage flooding, residents and city officials aired frustration over recurring service lapses.
Storms Trigger Flood Warnings, Disrupt Travel
Storms began moving across Chicago around noon Friday, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue Flood Watches and Flash Flood Warnings across Cook and DuPage counties, later expanding to include Will, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, and Lake County in Indiana.
A ground stop was issued at both O’Hare and Midway airports, leading to flight delays averaging over 60 minutes. While the ground stop was later lifted, flyers continued to face lengthy delays as storms lingered in the region.
By 12:19 p.m., Midway International Airport was facing delays as a new wave of storms hit the area, with the FAA reporting 60-minute average wait times for both airports.
Read the full update on WGN’s storm timeline.
Widespread Flooding in West Lawn, Back of the Yards
Floodwaters inundated neighborhoods like West Lawn and Back of the Yards, where SkyCam9 footage showed significant standing water at intersections such as 47th and Ashland. In West Lawn, some residents reported just a few inches of water, while others faced over a foot of flooding inside homes and businesses.
Mount Greenwood Hit with Water Pressure Outage
In Mount Greenwood, an electrical issue knocked out water pressure for parts of the neighborhood. Officials confirmed that most water service was restored later in the afternoon, but the outage added to growing frustrations across the South Side.
More on the incident available in WGN’s coverage of the outage.
Alderman Slams Mayor Over Sewer Backlog
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) criticized Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration for neglecting infrastructure maintenance. Lopez claimed the 15th Ward has “nearly 70 outstanding requests for sewer/catch basin cleaning” from 2024 and 2025.
In a public statement, Lopez said:
“Many of the flooding issues we saw today stem in part from an administration not focused on the quality-of-life services that matter most.”
He urged residents to call his office or visit the15thward.org to report storm-related issues.
More Rain Expected Into Saturday
The storms that began Friday evening are expected to continue overnight into Saturday, with heavy rainfall likely in some areas. The sluggish storm system could stick around for most of the morning, increasing flood risks in low-lying neighborhoods.
Have you experienced flooding, outages, or delays from Friday’s storms? Share your story or photos with us at ChicagoSuburbanFamily.com — your voice helps shed light on the challenges local communities face during severe weather.
