Flooding snarls traffic on Eisenhower, severe weather could still spawn tornadoes

A person takes a photo of dark clouds covering portions of the downtown area Saturday afternoon. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Flooding shut down a portion of the Eisenhower Expressway Saturday evening, snarling traffic in and out of the city as the Chicago area remains under multiple watches and warning for severe weather.

Standing water on Interstate 290 blocked traffic about 4 p.m., Illinois State Police announced on Twitter.

Water had receded in all but one eastbound lane, the Illinois Department of Transportation said shortly, but a full clean-up was needed before the expressway could reopen.

Eastbound traffic was being diverted off at Des Plaines and westbound traffic was being diverted off at First Avenue, with troopers on scene to help manage the flow of drivers.

Traffic on the Stevenson and the Dan Ryan expressways was also crawling in some areas Saturday night.

Large parts of the area, including the city, were under a severe storm warning into the night. A tornado watch is in effect until 7 p.m. and several tornado warnings were ongoing in the south suburbs.

This Tornado Warning for central Cook County has been allowed to expire. The rotating area passed over the immediate northwest & north sides of the city. Other storm cells behind it we continue to watch. Remain vigilant this afternoon and alert for warnings. #ILwx https://t.co/rApZLHPGU7

— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) June 26, 2021

Tornado sirens blared briefly in parts of Chicago Saturday afternoon, but a tornado warning was allowed to expire after rotation clouds passed over the North and Lower West sides of the city.

Forecasters say residents still need to “remain vigilant” through the evening as “the ingredients are there for potential severe storms, including rotating ones with a tornado threat.”

Additional storm cells have been tracked across the area, bringing with them severe thunderstorms, the weather service said.

The weather service issued a flash flood warning that will remain in effect until 6:15 p.m. Showers and thunderstorms are expected for the next 24 hours, the weather service said, especially along and southeast of Interstate 55.

As storms moved through the area Saturday afternoon, the roof of a commercial building collapsed on the Northwest Side. No one was injured in the incident and no other damage to the building was reported. Officials could not immediately say if the collapse was weather-related.

The severe weather comes days after a tornado ripped through a few suburbs west of the city.

Flash Flood Warning including Chicago IL, Naperville IL, Cicero IL until 6:15 PM CDT pic.twitter.com/ao3xryPWuo

— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) June 26, 2021

Dark clouds cover portions of the downtown area, Saturday.