Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Aug 9
Chicago Storms Ground O'Hare and Midway as 4 to 7 Inches of Rain Threaten
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Aug 9

Chicago Storms Ground O'Hare and Midway as 4 to 7 Inches of Rain Threaten

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Aug 9

Summary

  • Ground stops hit both Chicago airports Sunday afternoon—O'Hare until 2:15 p.m. and Midway until 2:30 p.m.—as severe thunderstorms moved into the city, with O'Hare departures averaging about an hour late and rising.
  • Warnings covered northern Cook County, including Chicago from the Loop north, plus parts of DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties after a storm line pushed in from Wisconsin at about 30 mph.
  • ComEd reported 77 active outages affecting 6,466 customers around 2 p.m. as heavy rain, lightning and thunder swept across downtown Chicago.
  • A second round of storms is expected Sunday night, with forecasters warning that training downpours, possible supercells and a tornado threat could bring flash flooding and a worst-case 4 to 7 inches of rain.

Insights

After sudden ground stops and a wind-blown fuel spill, how long will the severe travel ripples haunt Chicago's airports?
As floodwaters rise and power grids fail, what is the true cost of Chicago's escalating battle against multi-day severe storms?
With 80 mph winds and hundreds of thousands left in the dark, what hidden vulnerabilities did Chicago's latest storm expose?