Storms Halt Traffic, Cut Power In Midwest
July 29, 2011 by UPI - United Press International, Inc.
DETROIT, July 29 (UPI) — Highway flooding snarled morning commutes in the Detroit area Friday, a day after a record rainfall, authorities said.
A rash of accidents by 7 a.m. EDT had troopers “just running from one to another,” Michigan State Police Sgt. David Stokes told the Detroit Free Press. “It’s just flooding all over the place.”
DTE Energy said about 10,000 customers had lost power from storms.
Between 1 a.m. and 3 p.m. Thursday, 2.16 inches of rain fell at Detroit Metro Airport, topping the 1.57-inch one-day record for July 28 set in 1949, the National Weather Service. Another .67 inches of rain had fallen by 7 a.m. Friday.
In the Chicago area, 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain fell Thursday, adding to a record total for July. A thunderstorm warning was called off at 2:45 a.m. CDT Friday, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Northwest Indiana was under a severe thunderstorm watch and flash flood warnings in the morning.
The Chicago area already had 6,000 homes and businesses without electricity from previous storms. Thursday night’s storm raised that figure to 28,000, but it was down to 19,000 by 5:30 a.m.
By 1 a.m. Friday, O’Hare International Airport had recorded 10.45 inches of rain for the month. The previous July record was 9.56 inches in 1889.
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