The flood watch is in effect until 7 a.m. Friday for Cook County, the collar counties and the majority of northern Illinois, according to the National Weather Service.

Repeated rounds of torrential downpours are creating an enhanced flooding threat tonight and again on Friday with additional threats for damaging winds, hail, and brief tornadoes with severe evening storms.

A Chicago flash flood warning went out Tuesday night as the city experienced some of its heaviest rain since 2023. More than 4 inches fell in less than 90 minutes on the West Side.

In the early hours of July 4, the only sound many of the vacationers along the banks of the Guadalupe River would have heard was pounding rain and thunder. They didn’t get any official warning of the rapidly rising waters that ultimately proved deadly to dozens of people swept away in Central Texas flash floods.

As the search in Texas continued for more than 160 people believed to be missing, the full extent of the catastrophe had yet to be revealed.