Chicago airports cancel flights with tornado alert in place

The US authorities issued a tornado alert for Chicago alongside storm warnings for the Midwestern US, as disruptions hit air travel and power supply to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the region.

Late on June 11, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the city and nearby areas, cautioning about dangerous flying debris and urging residents to take cover immediately.

Tornado watches are in effect across parts of Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin, while flood watches cover a broader area from Wisconsin to Missouri, according to the National Weather Service.

As at June 11, more than 11.4 million people, including residents of Chicago, face a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms capable of producing hail and tornadoes, the US Storm Prediction Center said.

“They got whacked yesterday and we are expecting two waves today,” said Tyler Roys, a meteorologist with commercial forecaster AccuWeather Inc. “The atmosphere is still primed for Chicago later this afternoon.”

Over the last two days, 428 filtered reports of hail, damaging winds and tornadoes have been logged across the Midwest, per the Storm Prediction Center. 

As at 4.30pm New York time (4.30am Singapore time on June 12), 925 flights were cancelled around the US, with 598 leaving or arriving at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, where the Federal Aviation Administration warned of delays because of thunderstorms.

Another 99 flights passing through New York’s LaGuardia Airport were cancelled as the storm’s impacts rippled across the air travel network. 

In addition, more than 250,000 homes and businesses were without power in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to PowerOutage.com

In 2025, severe storms caused US$51 billion (S$65.54 billion) in insured losses, according to the Insurance Information Institute website.

Total economic losses exceeded US$68 billion, the industry group said.

It was the third straight year with losses of more than US$50 billion, “more than any other category of natural disaster”. BLOOMBERG