Marathon Pundit: After the deluge

It's a rare day when the Weather Channel's lead story is what's happening in Chicago---and there's not a snowflake in sight. Earlier today I drove west on Golf Road and attempted to take another photograph of the Des Plaines River on the campus of Oakton Community College. But Golf Road was closed due to standing water, so I couldn't get anywhere near the place today.

Many people I've spoken to who live in the Chicago suburbs of Des Plaines, Glenview, Park Ridge, Mount Prospect, as well as the western end of Morton Grove--I'm on the east end--have been without power for since the first wave of storms hits yesterday afternoon.

The electrical workers in the top photo are repairing a power line in Park Ridge.

What does a power outage look like? Well not much, but on the corner on Greenwood Avenue just north of Dempster in the same town, you'll notice the traffic light is not functioning.

Just a few steps away from the banks of the Des Plaines River, this home has a pond in its back yard that wasn't there Thursday morning.

About that river, I took this photograph just before sunset from the Rand Road bridge near Maryville Academy's Des Plaines campus. A pretty photo, yes, but it doesn't show that the river is getting very close to overflowing its banks. Luckily, the rain forecasted to day bypassed the area. More rain is expected on Saturday morning, however.