Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Record warmth moved into Chicago area during mild winter, but more rain and possible flooding expected overnight

 January 29, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- The record high temperature for January 29 was set around 6 a.m., and the thermometer continued to climb. By Tuesday evening, rain and predictions of flooding put a damper on the day.

The conditions caused delays and cancellations for passengers at Chicago's airports.

ComEd crews also worked to restore electricty to homes and businesses that lost power due to the stormy weather. The major of outages were reported in the south suburbs.

The torrent of rain slowed the evening commute, and is causing concerns of overnight flooding.

Still, many Chicago-area residents say they'll take the soaking rain in exchange for 60-degree temperatures in.

Across the country, two dozen record highs were recorded - some of the warmest ever in January.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, deep water overwhelmed some cars, while tornados were reported in Arkansas and Texas.

The warm weather persisted in Chicago Tuesday, providing an assist for those who work outdoors.

"You gotta enjoy the day because tomorrow it's just gonna drop again," said David Beltran, tree trimmer.

At Niles Ice Land, hockey practice was moved indoors due to the warm weather.

The arena is down to its final inch of ice.

A compressor is working non-stop to keep the warm rain from thawing what's left of the ice. Patrons and employees are in the minority when it comes to the weather- they say they are actually looking forward to winter temps.

"We're about ten degrees away for the next 12 hours. I think we'll keep it as long as the temperature goes down," said Marty Stankowicz, general manager.

Stankowicz may get what he asked for.

In addition to Tuesday's rainy outlook, forecasters say winter coats and hats will need to come back out because temperatures will be in the single digits again by Thursday.

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