Friday`s sunny skies allowed those affected by Thursday`s basement-filling rainfall an opportunity to clean up and dry out.
Various south suburban and northwest Indiana areas were inundated by up to 5 inches or more of rain in the series of storms that began late Wednesday night and moved slowly across Chicago through most of the following day.
Although O`Hare International Airport, Chicago`s official reporting station, recorded a total of .95 inches within a 36-hour span, the small community of St. John, Ind., south of Hammond, unofficially had more than 5 inches in a six-hour period.
”We`re almost back to normal,” said Pete Monix, St. John director of public works. ”The water is mostly gone and all the streets are open, and right now we`re trying to clean up everything.”
Monix said there was no estimate of the damage to the community of 5,000. He said ”at least another inch of rain fell” Thursday evening before the skies cleared. ”I`ve been here 38 years, and this is the worst I`ve ever seen.”
Park Forest and Crete each reported more than 3 inches of rain early Thursday, and Midway Airport had 2.47 inches in a 24-hour period ending Friday.
Forecasters at the Central Weather Service predicted a possibility of scattered showers Saturday and Sunday, but no repeat of the previous heavy weather pattern.
Meteorologist Wayne Peterson said rain probably would reoccur later in the week.
Northwest Indiana seemed to get the brunt of the damage. Merrillville, Schererville and Crown Point each reported more than 5 inches of rain.
One Indiana death was reported in connection with the weather.
Hobart police said Roger Witten, 37, of Hobart drowned when he tried to ride his bicycle through a street flooded by the rapid waters of Deep River. Halfway across, he was swept away by a strong current. Police divers recovered the body.
Hammond authorities decided Friday not to evacuate some 1,500 residents of an apartment complex after water from the Little Calumet River crumbled a sand and earthen dike near Kennedy Avenue.
A new sand barrier was constructed on the thoroughfare, and Police Chief James Bobowski said Fire Department crews would start pumping water away from the complex as soon as possible.
