Flash Floods and Heavy Rain Hit Northern Illinois

As predicted by weather.com, heavy and dangerous thunderstorms rolled through the Chicagoland area and surrounding counties Wednesday evening. These storms brought violent winds, heavy rain, and flooding to northern parts of Illinois.

The storms that swept through the area caused flash flood warnings for Lake, Boone, McHenry, and Winnebago counties. Some of these areas saw more than four inches of rain. Some streets were already flooded from the ongoing storm.

Some places also received more than an inch of rain in about 15 minutes. This can be extremely dangerous for those driving, especially on poorly lit roads.

In some counties, streets had to close due to the flash floods and flowing water.

"Getting home from work was such a pain. All of a sudden you're on dry, flat road, the next you're driving through puddles. You don't know how deep they are, so it's very dangerous when you can avoid the water. On top of that you can't see anything. Your headlights barely do the trick. It's just not weather you want to be driving around in," said Lake county resident Holly Mitte.

The storms also brought more problems to several residential areas in northern counties.

"A tree a few blocks away was completely down, it looked like it had snapped in half. Luckily it fell into the vacant lot next to it. No one was hurt and no property was damaged. That's all you can ask for. The next task will be waiting to see how long it takes for the city to clean it up," said a Winnebago county resident Adam Portinski.

On top of the weather hitting residential areas, many flights were delayed at O'Hare International Airport. A few flights were also canceled. Flights at Midway Airport were also delayed, but no major cancellations happened Wednesday night.

"I was supposed to fly out of Midway Airport tonight around 8, but that's not going to happen. I ended up re-scheduling the flight for Friday afternoon when the weather is not supposed to be so bad, at least not as bad as it was tonight. That's Chicago for you," said Chicago resident John O'Malley.