Heavy Rain Floods Roads Across South Suburbs (UPDATED)

Heavy overnight rain and melting snow are flooding roadways throughout the south suburbs Tuesday morning, leading to slow and complicated commutes as roads have been closed. Here are the major trouble spots due to high water:

• Kilborne and Kenton are flooded north of 151st. in Midlothian (added)
• Southwest Highway is closed, from 135th Street to 131st Street
• Nelson Road is closed between Andrea Drive and Illinois Highway in New Lenox
• Illinois Highway, also in New Lenox, is closed between Nelson and Gougar roads
• 135th Street is closed, from Harlem Avenue to Ridgeland
• Archer Avenue ramps to southbound LaGrange Road are closed
• 107th Street is closed, from LaGrange Road to Kean
• 143rd Street is closed, from Wolf Road to Creek Crossing
• U.S. 30 near Highland Park Drive and Pilcher Park in Joliet
• Governors Highway is closed, from 214th Street to 219th Street
• Sauk Trail is closed, from Ashland to Western Avenue
• Wolf Road at 167th Street has very high standing water but remains open as of 8 a.m.
• Chicago Road in Steger between Sauk Trail and Steger Road flooded
• Standing water reported in left two lanes of I-57, between 127th Street and 147th Street, both north and southbound

Flooding in Orland Park forced Joey's Red Hots, 17400 Wolf Road, to close. The restaurant reported about 2 feet of water from the flooding.

In Tinley Park, residents were reporting their basements becoming flooded Tuesday morning because of backed-up sewers. The creek near Centennial Park and Hilbert Siemsen Meadow also was reported to be overflowing its banks and causing some flooding just north of 167th Street.

NBC Chicago's weather team saw cars hydroplaning on I-57 near Sibley Boulevard during the early Tuesday commute, with a few spinning out on the highway.

Motorists should avoid high standing water in the roadway. Not only could the water pour over the engine and possibly stall the vehicle, the water could obscure road hazards. ABC 7 Chicago's Stormwatch team discovered just that as their van cruised through high water Tuesday morning on Southwest Highway, struck a pothole and blew out a tire.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch through Tuesday night for Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall and Will counties. Several rounds of rain and thunderstorms are expected through Tuesday night and into Wednesday. An unusual pattern of warm air, more typical of April shower season, is striking the polar air across the Midwest and delivering this pattern of rainstorms, according to the NWS.

This post will be updated. Please share your observations and photos of local trouble spots in the comments.