National Weather Service Issues Flood Advisory for Montgomery

The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory Friday for the Fox River in Montgomery. It will remain in effect until Sunday night.

The warning also includes the Des Plaines River at Riverside in Cook County, the Fox River at Dayton in LaSalle County, and Sugar Creek at Milford in Iroquois County.

According to the NWS’ hazardous weather outlook for the area, also issued on Friday, the warmer weather over the past few days has caused accumulated snow from the Feb. 2 blizzard to melt into waterways. And expected rain on Sunday night could compound the problem, according to the report.

The Fox River through Montgomery is expected to rise to 12.6 feet tonight, according to the NWS. The “action stage” for that section of the Fox is 12.5 feet, with a “flood stage” occurring at 13 feet.

Director Mike Pubentz said his staff has been made aware of the flood advisory, but he doesn’t anticipate water levels to rise to worrisome levels.

“We’ll continue to monitor it, but when we get up into the 14-foot range, that’s when we tend to have home flooding,” Pubentz said. The NWS reports show that levels are expected to recede before getting to that point, he said.

The main area prone to flooding in Montgomery is on River Street, between Ashland Avenue and Mill Street. The homes along the river there are all north of the dam, Pubentz said, and have the highest risk of flooding.

Street flooding, he said, should not be a problem.

“We usually don’t have street flooding,” he said. “We haven’t in the time that I’ve been here.”

Dan Toutant, engineer with the Montgomery and Countryside Fire Protection District, said firefighters have been made aware of the flood advisory, but no out-of-the-ordinary precautions are being taken.

“We just have to make sure our boots are good,” he said.