Chicago Weather Alert: Heavy Rain Leads to Flood Advisories, Affecting BP Refinery in Whiting

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CHICAGO (WLS) — Heavy rain fell across the Chicago area Monday night and Tuesday morning.

In DeKalb County, some residents were forced to pump out water, and in Lockport, as floodwaters began to subside, yet another deluge of rain swept through.

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Flood Advisories remain in effect for much of the area until 10:30 a.m.

ABC7 Accuweather’s Tracy Butler reports that areas of LaSalle County experienced over seven inches of rainfall within a day, while Naperville saw nearly four inches.

In Northwest Indiana, Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago had high water and flooded basements.

The BP refinery in Whiting was also impacted by the storms.

A statement from the company says, “Overnight thunderstorms in Northwest Indiana significantly affected the Whiting Refinery’s operations, causing flooding and severe conditions locally. Our response and operations teams are handling the storm’s impact on-site.

“To ensure safety, materials are being flared. We acknowledge reported odors in the area and are addressing them. Due to a sheen on 121st Street in Whiting, traffic is restricted between Schrage Ave and Front St, and our crews are addressing this issue.

“Whiting Refinery has comprehensive weather protection plans to manage such conditions, which have been in action since last night. Our priority remains the safety of our workforce, the community, and the environment. We’ll continue to track weather developments and respond accordingly.”

On Burr Street in Gary, a man had to try to manually push his car through the flooded roadway.

The Lansing Fire Department responded to a power outage because of a tree limb on power lines.

More flooding could be seen on Torrence Avenue and Ridge Road and the expressways on I-80 at Torrence.

On 15th Avenue, just east of Cline Avenue, multiple vehicles and semi trucks traversed the flooded roadways.

A tow truck driver handled at least 10 calls overnight, helping them jump start their car and reminding people not to drive through standing water.

Lightning also painted the skies in the southwest suburbs.

Video posted to social media showing what an earlier round of rain left behind, inches of water covering neighborhood streets in Lockport.

In DeKalb County, Genoa faces chaos from the storms. The area experienced heavy rainfall, which flooded streets and lawns, prompting residents to operate water pumps continuously.