Chicago airports cancel hundreds of flights as storms pound area

(Bloomberg) — Thunderstorms and high winds are battering the Midwest, disrupting air travel and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the region.

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. Through Thursday, more than 11.4 million people, including residents of Chicago, face a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms capable of producing hail and tornadoes, the Storm Prediction Center said.

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

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

Related

More

As of 4:30 p.m. New York time, 925 flights were canceled around the U.S., 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 canceled 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 $51 billion in insured losses, according to the Insurance Information Institute website. Total economic losses exceeded $68 billion, the industry group said. It was the third straight year with losses of more than $50 billion, “more than any other category of natural disaster.”

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.