Storm Strands Chicago Airport, Threatens More as Planes Scramble to Land

A tornado warning in Chicago sent travelers to an airport shelter as strong winds in the region grounded hundreds of flights, upending operations at one of the country's busiest travel hubs.

Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Monday evening directed travelers to take shelter at designated areas while heeding the instructions of public safety personnel. The airport issued the directive in response to high winds and an earlier tornado warning. While the National Weather Service later issued the all-clear, the tornado has caused delays and cancellations.

The National Weather Service's Chicago office earlier issued a tornado warning for the city's metro area, as well parts of northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. At 6:46 p.m. local time, the service warned that winds gusting at 84 mph were headed toward O'Hare.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop for flights at the airport, according to NBC Chicago.

"Take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of as turdy building," the weather service warning said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris."

Meanwhile, travelers sought shelter in the crowded airport.

The online flight-tracking service FlightAware on Monday evening showed all inbound flights at O'Hare were being held at their origin until 9 p.m. Central time. Departures were also delayed for up to one hour and 45 minutes. FlightAware reported a total of 574 delays and 91 cancellations for Monday.

Chicago's Midway Airport reported gusts of 69 mph as the storm moved toward the south side of the city, according to the Sun-Times. A less busy airport, Midway had only 170 delays and one cancellation on Monday, according to FlightAware.

O'Hare was the fourth-busiest airport in the world in 2021, seeing 54 million passengers, according to data from the Airports Council International.

The National Weather Service issued the all-clear notice for areas around the airport and nearby DuPage County after 7 p.m., but warned that strong winds exceeding 80 mph were still headed toward nearby areas.

"This remains a dangerous situation!" the service said in a tweet, before later cancelling the tornado watch.

Elsewhere, ComEd reported more than 384 outages across the Chicago area with more than 56,000 customers being left without power, according to NBC Chicago. The station also reported that shoppers in a mall in the suburb of Schaumburg, about 17 miles northwest of O'Hare, were seeking shelter amid tornado warnings.

Newsweek reached out to the Chicago Department of Aviation for comment.