Tornadoes touch down near Chicago, disrupting air traffic; 300 flight cancelled

All departures of commercial flights into O’Hare and Midway airports were grounded, and outgoing flights from the two airports were delayed, the US Federal Aviation Administration reported.

More than 300 flights in and out of O’Hare and another 32 in and out of Midway were cancelled, according to FlightAware.

Off-site air traffic controllers assumed control of the airspace as the on-site controllers needed to evacuate the towers at O’Hare and Midway, the FAA said.

Normal operations resumed after the storms passed, the FAA said.

Trees were uprooted and roofs blown off in the Cook County town of Countryside, and car windows were blown out in La Grange, the National Weather Service reported. Tree and roof damage was also reported from several other twisters, the service said.

One photo posted on social media showed a cinder block building collapsed in what appeared to be an industrial district of McCook, about 24 km southwest of Chicago.