Illinois, 1998

Flooding in Illinois, August 4, 1998

August 4, 1998 · NWS LOT · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain over southern Kane, much of Du Page and part of Cook County. 99 inches at Willow Springs.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

Thunderstorms produced heavy rain over southern Kane, much of Du Page and part of Cook County. Heavier rainfall amounts included 2.72 inches at Aurora, 2.51 inches at Burr Ridge, 2.5 inches at Bolingbrook, 2.23 inches near Midway Airport and 1.99 inches at Willow Springs. Some of this area also had heavy rain late on the 3rd into the early morning hours of the 4th. Two day rain totals were 6.01 inches at Bolingbrook, 5.2 inches at Burr Ridge, 5.03 inches at Naperville, 3.95 inches at Olympia Fields, and 3.7 inches at Willow Springs. The afternoon storms caused more street flooding, backup of storm sewers and flooding of basements and low lying areas. A 6 year old boy was swept into a storm drain while playing in flood waters in Bolingbrook. He was carried over 1/4 mile through a drain pipe to a retention pond where he was pinned against a grate for 25 minutes until a rescue squad found him. He was pronounced dead at arrival at a nearby hospital.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Kane

When
August 4, 11:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Kane County, Aurora
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.939, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Du Page

When
August 4, 11:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Du Page County, Countywide
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.852, -88.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Cook

When
August 4, 11:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Cook County, Countywide
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
41.895, -87.646 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Flood, Cook1998-08-046MaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Illinois in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, August 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5663118, 5663119, 5663120.