Lake County Flooding: Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Evacuated, Roads Closed

11:30 p.m. UPDATE: Power was restored to Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital at 8:45 p.m. Hospital officials said they are continuing to work closely with local authorities and ComEd after evacuating the facility due to power outages. 93 patients were transferred to nearby facilities. Lake Forest Hospital will be closed for clinical operations Thursday, the hospital announced. Immediate care centers remain open in Glenview, Vernon Hills, Deerfield and Evanston, and some cases have been redirected to the Grayslake Outpatient Center.

» State Of Emergency Declared Over Lake County Flooding

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Watch from 9 p.m. until 9 a.m. Thursday. Five to eight inches of rain have fallen and additional amounts are expected through the evening. Local officials urged motorists to drive with caution.

Flash Flood Watch this eve-Thu AM. More flash flooding psbl from storms w/torrential rain expected to impact at least portions of the area. pic.twitter.com/RhshV0nXvL
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) July 12, 2017

Heavy rains overnight led to flooding and road closures throughout the north suburbs Wednesday. Cars were stranded in high waters after close to 6 inches of rain fell in parts of Lake County. The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission has changed the county's flood status to red, which means that major flooding is currently occurring in Lake County.

Rockland Road (Route 176) has been closed from Waukegan Road (Route 43) to the Tri-State Tollway (I-94), according to the Lake County Division of Transportation. Waukegan Road (Route 43) and Skokie Highway (Route 41) have been shut down south of Rockland to Westleigh Road.

Partial closures were also reported on Scranton Avenue at Sheridan Road, and heavy delays were reported on Westleigh and Half Day roads in Lake Forest and Wilmot Road in Deerfield. Lake Cook Rd has been closed from Waukegan Road to Skokie Blvd in Northbrook. (More closures listed below. Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Lake Forest & Lake Bluff, Highland Park, Deerfield — or your communty. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Deerpath Road was closed between Golf Lane and Westmoreland Road, according to Highland Park police. Eastbound Kennedy Road (Route 60) is closed at Waukegan Road. There was also flooding in the Centennial Park neighborhood of Highland Park, including Trailway from Half Day Road to Parkside Avenue. Officials asked drivers not to attempt to transit the area. Road closures were also in place at Tanglewood, York, the south end of Summit and Briergate.

About 1,200 ComEd customers were without power in Highland Park as of 11 a.m., primarily on Ridgewood Drive, Sherwood Forest and Linden Avenue.

Backups were reported on the southbound Tri-State after two lanes of southbound I-94 were closed at the Lake Forest Oasis due to flooding.

Flooding problems in Lake Bluff and Libertyville. This is near 1500 Rockland road. pic.twitter.com/1Mu6qoS591
— ANITA PADILLA FOX 32 (@AnitaPadilla32) July 12, 2017

Trains Halted

Flooding also interrupted train service Wednesday morning. Metra shut down inbound and outbound trains on the Milwaukee District North Line. Metra said it is offering free shuttles between Lake Forest and Chicago and said the Chicago Transit Authority will honor everyone with North Line tickets on the Blue Line.

Metra said normal service would be resuming for the afternoon commute.

Metra Alert MD-N - Milwaukee North Line - Minimal Shuttle Service Between Lake Forest and Chicago - CTA Blue Line Honoring Metra Tickets
— Metra MD-N (@metraMDN) July 12, 2017

Outbound trains on the Union Pacific North Line were blocked by a tree on the tracks around 7 a.m.

Amtrak temporarily halted its trains between Chicago and Milwaukee due to flooding on its tracks around 7:45 a.m. No alternate form of transportation was immediately made available, and trains halted by the flooding were forced to return.

Stuck in Sturtevant. Flash flooding has washed out tracks in Lake Forest. We stuck. pic.twitter.com/bLa6dCwjA0
— Jim Windsor (@jwind000) July 12, 2017

Lake Bluff cars stranded RT 176 W of RT 43 #NBCSky5 live @nbcchicago @KyeMartinNBC pic.twitter.com/HS0Zy8gWLL
— Mike Lorber (@NBCSky5) July 12, 2017

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency until 2 p.m. for parts of Lake County.

Flash Flood Warning including Waukegan IL, North Chicago IL, Gurnee IL until 2:00 PM CDT pic.twitter.com/zbLqkYjzIr
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) July 12, 2017

Weather officials are urging residents living in Lake County to move to a higher ground and say the flooding emergency is "an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation."

» More: Water Rescues, Stranded Vehicles Reported Due To Flooding; More Rain On The Way

"Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order. Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles," the National Weather Service said.

Wednesday afternoon, temperatures are projected to rise above 90 degrees. Additional thunderstorms are expected to develop across northern Illinois into northwest Indiana tonight as a cold front approaches the area. Storms will be capable of producing large hail, damaging gusts of winds and very heavy rainfall that could result in additional flash flooding, the NWS advised.

More road closures via the Illinois Department of Transportation and the cities of Highland Park and Lake Forest:

Complete Street Closures Update

• Ramp from northbound Route 41 to eastbound Central
• Central just east of Fredrickson, eastbound closed, 1 lane westbound
• Park Avenue West east of Route 41 and at the Target signal light
• Half Day at Summit remains open but traffic is slow due to standing water
• Trail Way N of Half Day up to Parkside all side streets impassable
• Tanglewood Court impassable
• Summit (and west of Summit) between Marl Oak and Half Day impassable
• Beverly between Central and Harvard impassable
• Taylor Avenue impassable
• Rte. 41 between Buckley Road and Westleigh Road
• Rte. 41 at Deerpath underpass
• Rte. 41 at Onwentsia Road curve
• Rte. 176 west of Waukegan Road
• Waukegan Road is one lane open only
• Deerpath from Rte. 41 to Golf Lane
• Westleigh/Sheridan intersection
• IL-132 closed between Oplaine & 1st Ave
• Route 41 closed between IL 21 & Delaney
• Route 45 closed at IL 137
• IL-176 closed at Sheridan Rd
• IL-131 closed north of IL 132
• Westbound IL-137 at US-41

» Find a live map of closed roadways at the Lake County Passage website.

Power Outages

The storm has left thousands across Lake County without power Wednesday. Some of the hardest hit areas for power outages as of 2 p.m. Wednesday included Lincolnshire, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Palatine and Wheeling, according to ComEd’s Outage Map. Crews were out assessing damage and working to restore power Wednesday, according to ComEd.

If You've Been Flooded...

The Lake County Health Department offered the following steps to minimize health hazards caused by flooding:

• Do not attempt to enter or cross flooded streams or rivers. Floodwaters can be very powerful. Even streams, rivers, and areas of standing water that appear to be calm or shallow can be very dangerous.
• Wash hands and scrub fingernails thoroughly with soap and safe water, especially before eating or drinking.
• Consult a physician about obtaining a tetanus booster if you work in or walk through floodwaters. People with open cuts or other wounds should take extreme care when walking through floodwaters due to the possibility of contracting tetanus. In general, flood workers who have had a tetanus shot within the past 10 years will not need to be revaccinated. However, workers who acquire a wound and who have not had a tetanus shot within 5 to 10 years may need a tetanus booster.
• If you have a private well, check its condition. If the well casing is submerged, surface water may have entered the well and contaminated the drinking water. In these cases, you should not drink the water until the flood waters have receded and the water from the well is tested and shown to meet drinking water standards.
• Check for safety hazards before entering a flooded home or basement. Make sure that no electrical or other safety hazards, such as leaking gas, exist.
• Do not eat food that has been exposed to floodwaters. Thoroughly wash off sealed cans in good condition. Immerse the cans in a bleach disinfecting solution made by mixing two teaspoons of household bleach per gallon of water for at least five minutes. All spoiled foods and leaky or bulged cans should be discarded.
• Scrub basement and other areas that have been flooded with a household detergent solution. Use a solution of one-quarter cup of household bleach in a gallon of water, then flush the washed areas with safe water.
• Scrub furniture, walls, fixtures and appliances with soap and safe water.
• Machine wash affected clothing, bedding, and cloth toys.
• Sanitize non-porous children’s toys by first washing them with soap and safe water, then soaking them for at least one minute in a solution of one tablespoon of bleach to a gallon of water. Do not rinse objects after soaking; allow to air dry.

» For more information or further questions, call Lake County Environmental Health Services at 847-377-8020.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

Top photo via Lake County