Severe storms flood streets in north suburbs

DES PLAINES (WLS) -- Severe weather hit the Chicago area for a second day in a row. On Monday night, cars in the northern suburbs were trapped by the rising waters. The torrential rains made driving treacherous, and people had to slow down or even pull over until the storms passed.

The worst of the street flooding appeared to be in the north and northwest suburbs. On Dee Road, just north of Dempster, much of the block was impassable Monday night. The water starting to recede, but not before it ended up in some people's homes. On Monday night, residents in Des Plaines say it took only minutes for roads to be inundated.

"I looked outside, and the water started to come down. It came down real bad. Next thing I know, our basement is flooding up," said Ramone Murray, Des Plaines resident.

In Lake County, the skies opened up around 7 p.m. Heavy rain sent folks scurrying for cover before sheets of rain and lightning forced drivers to pull over.

"It's horrible. I noticed most of the cars - we just came from the city to north suburbs - and most of the cars had pulled off on the side of the road and decided to wait out the storm," said Jason Tanner, driver.

ABC7 viewers shared these photos on our Facebook page, showing the storm's ominous approach in the western suburbs.

In LaSalle County, near Peru, the fierce winds and heavy rain were accompanied by quarter-size hail.

Farther north in Wisconsin, the storm left a trail of damage. Trees were ripped out of the ground, ending up in swimming pools and crashing into vehicles.

In west suburban Addison, a lightning strike is blamed for a fire at this home on Byron Avenue. A family of four and their dog escaped the flames, which damaged the roof and top floor.

"The fire was in fact throughout the second floor. Our companies advanced their lines and were able to extinguish the fire," said Chief Don Markowski, Addison Fire District.

Eyewitness News was not been able to reach anyone from the city of Des Plaines for comment late Monday. Not too far away at O'Hare, the FAA said rain caused delays up of up to two hours Monday night, and there were problems reported at Midway as well.