CITYWIDE — Well, they were right about April showers this year.

Thursday’s 0.19 inches of rainfall at O’Hare Airport marked the 14th day of measurable rain in Chicago out of the first 16 days of the month.

With 5.47 inches of rainfall so far this month, Chicago is 366 percent above the typical total for mid-April, according to data from the National Weather Service.

March rained 15 out of its 31 days for a total of 4.54 inches — more than 2 inches above normal.

Total it up, and meteorological spring is already above 10 inches of rain. That total is the wettest in the city’s history, said WGN-TV meteorologist Bill Snyder.

“In 1983, we started the first half of spring with 9.29 inches, and Thursday we topped it,” Snyder said. “These records go back 155 years, so it really is something.”

Flooding seen in Edison Park on April 14, 2026. Credit: Provided

The plants may like it, but many homeowners with basements aren’t too thrilled.

There were 305 calls made to 311 for flooded basements and 264 calls for street flooding on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to data from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications. The majority of calls came from wards on the Far Northwest Side.

Rebecca Anderson, who lives in the Gladstone Park and Norwood Park area, said she woke up to about an inch of sewage water in her basement Wednesday and at least six other neighbors on her block also experienced flooding.

Edison Park resident Claudia Badillo said her street flooded so severely that its sidewalk was submerged for a few hours Tuesday night.

“I’ve lived in this house since July 2020 and I’ve never seen the water levels reach this high,” Badillo said.

The rainfall total so far this spring rivals what we typically see throughout the entire season.

“Normally, we get 10.69 inches of rain in meteorological spring, and we’re almost there,” Snyder said.

The recent rains have knocked the Chicago area out of a years-long drought, Snyder said.

“This is the end of essentially same drought that has plagued us for the past few years,” Snyder said. “While there were some ebbs and flows in drought and intensity, this had definitely been a multi-year drought.”

Heavy rains are possible late Friday into early Saturday, before a cooler and drier period takes over Saturday afternoon into early next week.

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