An Independence Day storm caused flash floods in western LaSalle and eastern Bureau counties this afternoon. Anyone driving anywhere should remember to avoid driving on flooded roads. Some people are reporting flooding in their basements.
Social media posts show water on many roads in the area. Oglesby City Hall says city crews are out filling in sinkholes, unplugging storm drains, and making sure sewer lift stations are working. A big sinkhole has been reported in a safety island at Fourth and Bucklin streets in LaSalle.
The automated weather station at the Peru airport reported 1.73 inches of rain in an hour and 20 minutes. Personal weather stations in the Weather Underground network reported more. Readers are cautioned that these amounts are unofficial and it’s not known how accurately the rain gauges have been calibrated. A gauge at the LaSalle veterans home recorded 2.37″. Another at Baker Lake recorded 2.96″. A device labeled “Kurrle homestead” southwest of Peru reported 3.75″. One labeled “MULES” in Oglesby logged 4.07″. And a Spring Valley location west of Hall High School, unnamed except for the code KILSPRIN130, reported 4.82″.