June 24--The Tri-Cities are on severe flood watch for Wednesday night and Thursday before they've even finished cleaning up from Monday night's onslaught of severe weather and heavy rains.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch from Wednesday night through Thursday afternoon for Kane County residents, as well as several far west and far south Chicago suburbs. Thunderstorms are expected to develop and increase in coverage and intensity through the period.
Because the ground is already soggy and saturated, residents can expect immediate runoff and rapid flooding, as well as quick stream and creek rises, National Weather Service officials said in an alert. The new rainfall will boost June's heavy precipitation totals, now twice normal.
Less than two weeks ago, thunderstorms flooded the homes of St. Charles' 7th Avenue Creek area, turning at least three street blocks into muddy tidal pools. The flooding filled basements and garages with up to a foot and a half of murky water, turned backyards into reservoirs and completely submerged a nearby parking lot.
Additional flood and thunderstorm alerts have the area's residents on edge, as several stayed home the day after the June 15 storm to clean up the damage.
In Batavia, city officials are asking residents to make sure storm inlets in the curb line of the streets near their homes are cleared from any debris that might be covering the grates, such as leaves and brush, to help water rush into the inlets faster.
Residents should also make sure any brush near creeks is removed, officials said in a news release. If water in the creek rises and overflows, it might pick up the brush and carry it downstream, clogging a road culvert and prohibiting water flow.
As part of Batavia's cleanup efforts from Monday's storms, the city has arranged to pick up flood-damaged articles during this week's regularly scheduled garbage pickup.
meltagouri@tribune.com
