This morning’s thunderstorms were an unexpected wake-up call for many in Barrington jolted from sleep by the cracks and booms of thunder, lightening and pounding rain. With the sunrise, came the flooded scene that caused Metra delays, road closures and submerged streets in neighborhoods throughout Barrington.
According to the Village of Barrington, this morning’s thunderstorms dumped about 5 inches of rain in just 4-hours in our area, with peak rain intensity at over 8 inches falling per hour.
That compares to a typical rain storm where we see only an inch of rain over the same time period.
Barrington police and emergency crews spent the day blocking roads, directing drivers and looking for a man and a dog spotted struggling in the floodwaters of Flint Creek according to reports from Barrington Life newspaper.
Floodwaters closed roads all over town.
Parts of Citizens Park and Miller Park were underwater.
Bikes submerged nearby showed the severity of this storm.
And statistics show just how big a rain this was according to Village of Barrington reports about this morning’s thunderstorms. “Barrington received approximately 5 inches of rain in a 4-hour time frame…The last wide-spread flooding event to hit Barrington wasin 2010, when the Village received 2.6 inches of rain in a 12-hour-period.”
Village public works, police and fire departments worked together to barricade flooded roadways, remove vehicles from flooded parking lots and provide sandbags where requested after this morning’s storm. And, with more rain in the forecast, tonight they’re offering these important tips for rainfall/flooding safety and preparedness:
* Keeping the storm sewer inlets in your area clear is one of the most important things you can do. Leaves, branches and other debris can clog inlets, worsening flooding conditions.
* The Public Works Department maintains a supply of sandbags available for public use. The sandbags are at the Public Works facility, 300 N. Raymond Avenue.
* If you encounter a flooded roadway, do not attempt to walk or dive through the flooded area – as little as six inches of water can cause you to lose balance, and can cause vehicle stalling or loss of control.
* Stay away from downed power lines and report them to Commonwealth Edison at 1-800-Edison1.
For more information whenever there is flooding in the Village of Barrington, visit their website for updates and the latest information at Barrington.il.gov.
Here’s a look at 365BarringtonTV’s video coverage of the local flooding, courtesy of Catherin Goetze…
Here is a recap of our images, photographed by Julie Linnekin, from around Barrington today.
