Severe Weather

Unit 5 and District 87 schools in Bloomington-Normal are keeping kids at home for at least the next two days as a severe winter storm moves into Illinois.

City Manager Tim Gleason says Bloomington is in an “infrastructure chapter” of its history right now. But after last month’s historic rains, some residents want to skip to the end of the story a little quicker.

McLean County Emergency Management is still compiling damage claims from last month's severe storms and its acting director says it's not clear how much money might be available for flooded-out home and business owners

McLean County emergency officials said Thursday time is already running out to register damage from last weekend's flooding.

Wastewater treatment plants in McLean County had to process three to four times times their typical water flow during last weekend's storms, but a manager says the system operated efficiently with few problems.

McLean County is compiling an estimate of damage from last weekend's storms so it can seek state or federal assistance.

Municipal leaders and companies that restore flooded property said Tuesday they expected new reports of damage related to exceptionally heavy weekend rains to continue accumulating through the week.

Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding in McLean County over the weekend uprooted pavement, stranded drivers, and filled basements with water. South Bloomington, Heyworth, Downs, and LeRoy bore the brunt of it, logging more than 10 inches of rain over the course of three days.

A flood warning is in effect for McLean County until Saturday afternoon, after a downpour brought 4 to 7 inches of rain and quickly flooded area roads, according to the National Weather Service.

McLean County received about 3 inches of snow in most places, but travel difficulties were out of proportion to the amount of precipitation. As dusk came…