Community Corner
Friday T-Storm Knocks Out Power To 1,000, Clogs River
Drought conditions end in dramatic fashion in Northbrook.
Yet another violent thunderstorm knocked out power in Northbrook Friday morning.
“About 1,000 residents lost power but ComEd should have them back before long,” said Paul Risinger, General Operations Superintendent for Northbrook’s Public Works Department.. “We had some minor street flooding at the beginning of the storm when the rain was heavy but everything subsided pretty quickly. Thankfully, the winds were not bad and there was no significant tree damage!”
According to ComEd’s website, approximately 27,900 customers across ComEd’s service area were without power as of 2 p.m. That number had decreased from an estimated 38,515 customers without power at noon. The utility reported that 341 crews were working to restore service.
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Earlier:
By midday in Northbrook, the trickle of water that flowed in the North Branch of the Chicago River yesterday had swelled high along the river’s banks. In Meadowhill Park, large tree limbs had clogged the waterway beneath the pedestrian structure that crosses the river, near the loop pathway.
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“One tree gets caught there and then all of them get stuck,” said a Water Reclamation District employee, who preferred not to give his name. The worker was standing above the river’s banks while his hardhat- wearing coworkers used tools and ropes to gently angle for branches caught near the base of the bridge. Once hooked, they dragged them out, some with the aid of heavy equipment, while paying special attention not to fall into the water swirling inches from their feet. Elsewhere in the park, the base paths were flooded around the diamond, and the same was true of nearby sidewalks.
As recently as yesterday, ducks young and old could be seen sitting on portions of the river’s bed, the sediment below exposed by the dry conditions of late June and this month, which are now, officially, history.
Northbrook received 1.05 inches of rain during the storm, Risinger said, and according to the National Weather Service, more showers and thunderstorms may be on the way Friday night and over the weekend.
