Heavy rain causes flooding in Chicago, forcing NASCAR to abort a downtown street race

CHICAGO –

Heavy rain flooded the streets of Chicago on Sunday, paralyzing cars and forcing NASCAR officials to cancel the final half of an Xfinity Series race that was scheduled to run through the city’s downtown.

The National Weather Service warned the flooding could be “life-threatening,” with numerous impassable roads, overflowing creeks and streams, and flooded basements in the Chicago area. Up to six inches of rain fell in the suburbs of Cicero and Berwyn by the afternoon, according to the NWS website. Flood warnings had largely expired by evening.

Illinois State Police said portions of Interstate 55 and Interstate 290 are closed due to flooding, with at least 10 cars trapped in the water on Interstate 55 near Pulaski Road, a major north-south thoroughfare in the city. Trains were also halted in some parts of the city.

Katera Fisher’s car “just started to float” when she tried to drive through high tide.

“So my first reaction was to try to get out of the car. I opened the door and the water started flooding my feet,” Fisher told WLS-TV.

NASCAR officials planned to complete the last half of an Xfinity Series race through the city center on Sunday morning after action was suspended on Saturday due to lightning strikes. They announced around noon on Sunday that they had decided to cancel the race due to the rain and declared Cole Custer the winner.

NASCAR’s Cup Series race began running through downtown on Sunday afternoon.

The start of the afternoon game of the Chicago Cubs against the Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field remains postponed.

Ricky Castro, a meteorologist in the NWS office in Chicago in suburban Romeoville, said a storm system was sweeping across the area instead of moving east, giving it time to pull moisture from the atmosphere and create severe storms. lead to rainfall. All the concrete in the metropolitan area prevents rain from seeping into the soil, causing flooding, he said.