Tornado Reported Outside Chicago’s O’Hare Airport as Storm Batters Midwest

A powerful storm battered the Midwest on Monday, spinning off multiple tornadoes, including one that appeared to touch down outside Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

A line of dangerous thunderstorms moved east across Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, bringing damaging winds, according to the National Weather Service. Two tornadoes were reported near Des Moines, Iowa, and another just outside O’Hare Airport. The Weather Service said a tornado also touched down near Sugar Grove, about 40 miles west of Chicago, that was confirmed by radar. The agency’s Chicago bureau said its staff had to briefly seek shelter from a tornado.

By about 1 a.m. on Tuesday, the tornado watches and warnings that covered 13 million people across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin had expired. Parts of Illinois were under a flash flood warning until 4 a.m. on Tuesday after the thunderstorms brought between two and five inches of rain, the Weather Service said.

On social media, travelers at O’Hare Airport described sitting in planes that rocked back and forth with the strength of the winds. Videos showed terminals packed with travelers sheltering. Over 60 flights at O’Hare Airport were canceled and nearly 400 were delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. At Chicago’s Midway Airport, another 34 were canceled and over 100 were delayed.

About 300,000 people were without power in Northern Illinois, and 170,000 in Indiana early Tuesday. The Weather Service’s Northern Indiana bureau said at about 3:30 a.m. that the power was out for a 10 mile stretch that included the agency.