Algonquin and Marengo in Kane and McHenry Counties Lightning Display at Nickol Knoll Arlington Heights

WARNING for photosensitive individuals: Lightning display in Arlington Heights near Payton Hill as thunderstorm passes between Algonquin and Marengo in Kane and McHenry counties. Weather geeks will appreciate the whole video; others might want to skip to elapsed time 5:35 (some of the video is enhanced with minor visual effects). YouTube Tips ⓘ

Thunderstorms on Monday, March 4, 2024 were connected to Chicago’s birthday celebration since the City of Chicago was incorporated on March 4, 1837. The lightning display was credited jokingly on social media as part of the celebration.

Although Arlington Heights reported significant rain overnight, the severe weather split and passed northwest and southeast of Arlington Heights and Rolling Meadows. Except for some activated fire alarms and minor power failures that might have been related to the weather, there were no damage reports in Arlington Heights or communities near Arlington Heights.

A thunderstorm passed near Algonquin and Marengo between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Monday, March 4, 2024, and the lightning display at Nickol Knoll Golf Club and Payton Hill in Arlington Heights was impressive. No thunder was heard from this storm in Kane County and McHenry County as the distance was about 24 miles away.

The storm seemed to have life of its own as it danced past northwest Chicagoland on the City of Chicago’s birthday.

A lightning strike, that possibly hit a nearby transformer, blew a hole in drywall at a home in Marengo, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

Storm damage was also reported on the north side of Chicago.

The preliminary precipitation summary indicates that there was 0.88 inch of rain at Chicago Executive airport, and 0.75 inch as O’Hare International Airport, according to the National Weather Service. At one home in Rolling Meadows the rain gauge measured 1.2 inches overnight Monday to Tuesday. Arlington Heights also likely had about 1.0 inch of steady and at times heavy rain. The heaviest rain fell between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.