Nearly 500 flights canceled at O’Hare, Midway as storms approach

CHICAGO — Approaching storms have prompted airlines to cancel nearly 500 flights at Chicago’s airports Thursday, with Southwest Airlines scratching all of its flights in the afternoon.

As of 8 a.m., more than 250 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport and more than 220 flights at Midway Airport, according to the Chicago Aviation Department. Delays were averaging 30 minutes at O’Hare and 40 minutes at Midway.

Severe thunderstorms are expected to roll into the Chicago area Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The storms are predicted to produce winds in excess of 58 mph and up to an inch of rain.

This is the first bad weather in the Chicago area for air traffic controllers who are still dealing with the fallout from a fire at an Aurora radar facility last Friday that grounded thousands of flights in Chicago and across the country.

The thunderstorms, which could include lightning and high winds, are expected to pass directly over both O’Hare and Midway, according to the weather service.

The FAA said in a statement earlier this week that it was “closely monitoring the weather outlook in the Chicago area and is working with the airlines on weather-related contingency plans in anticipation of predicted thunderstorms in the region over the next several days.”