Chicago Tornado Disrupts Hundreds of O'Hare International Airport Flights

By Rick Martin Jul 13 2023, 01:50 AM EDT

Chicago has been hit by a massive tornado, going through homes and affecting air traffic at the O'Hare International Airport Wednesday evening. No immediate injuries were reported after the tornado touched down in the suburbs around the city.

According to the Associated Press, the tornado touched down near O'Hare International Airport, forcing passengers to take shelter. While there were no injuries recorded, hundreds of flights were disrupted and property damage in the suburbs around the airport was reported.

The National Weather Service in Chicago confirmed that the tornado touched down at around 7:00 pm on Wednesday. It also warned that "This tornado has been touching the ground intermittently so far and is moving east. There are additional circulations along the line south of O'Hare. Seek shelter if in the warned area."

The tornado warning around the Windy City subsided around 8 pm that same evening, Currently, the NWS is tracking the storm, which is currently moving east toward southwest Michigan. The NWS also sounded Tornado Watch alarms in parts of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio on Thursday morning.

Around 173 flights were canceled, with over 500 more delayed because of the dangerous weather conditions. However, no damage was recorded at O'Hare and Chicago Midway International Airport.

Tornado Damages Illinois Countryside Near Chicago

While O'Hare International Airport was spared much of the damage, the suburbs and countryside around Chicago were not, according to ABC-7 News.

Strong storms have been brewing around Illinois as of late, with multiple funnel clouds and confirmed touchdowns all over the Chicago area. Tornado touchdowns were confirmed in Campton Hills, Countryside, Hodgkins, and Huntley. In total, eight tornadoes have been reported, with one report of a funnel cloud. NWS surveyors have now been sent to assess the strength of these tornadoes.

Huntley suffered some damage from these tornadoes, including two apartment buildings in the Bakely subdivision. Both were badly damaged, with one apartment reportedly losing its roof to a tornado. Eight families have now been displaced because the homes they were living in were damaged. However, nobody was injured.

Power lines were also downed around Huntley, with tree branches falling and power outages also being reported. Meanwhile, over in Hodgkins, the high winds blew the roof off a shopping cart docking station, it landed on top of a car and a pickup truck that were parked near a store.

Alarms Sound All Over Chicago as Tornadoes Touched Down

As the eight recorded tornadoes touched down all over northeastern Illinois, alarms have been sounded all over Chicago, sending many residents into a panic. Videos of the alarms going off were posted all over social media.

Longtime Chicago resident Lynn Baker captured the moment the alarms went off and posted it. He then talked to The Guardian about his experience, saying, "I'm in a 60-story apartment building so my options are somewhat limited," before adding, "We have to, I assume, go into the core of the building.