Water wasn't much of an issue during the September 5, 2014 storm that raced through Northbrook in the late afternoon. Led by fierce, 80 mph winds that ripped through town in minutes, the fast-moving storm toppled large trees, knocked down power lines, and left a huge mess. Almost every block was littered with piles of tree branches, nature's way of pruning the dead wood. Along with a history of water issues, Oak Avenue also has a history of Com Ed power outages. So, as expected, many homes in the neighborhood were without power for almost 24 hours. In the aftermath, instead of the sounds of silence during the night, there were sounds of generators trying to keep refrigerators and freezers filled with food from spoiling. For the uninitiated, big generators sound like a truck idling in your driveway with the pedal to the medal. Small ones sound like a lawnmower engine revving under your window. For eight hours.
BELOW: Neighbors get out their power saws to remove a downed tree in the 2300 block of Oak Avenue
This tree on Walters took a severe beating when the storm came through.
