July 13 (UPI) — Tornados touched down Wednesday evening in Chicago, including near the city’s international airport.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado was on the ground near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport at around 7 p.m.
“This tornado has been touching the ground intermittently so far and is moving east,” it said via Twitter. “There are additional circulations along the line south of O’Hare.
“Seek shelter if in the warned area!”
A confirmed tornado is on the ground near O’Hare airport! This tornado has been touching the ground intermittently so far and is moving east. There are additional circulations along the line south of O’Hare. Seek shelter if in the warned area! https://t.co/lirNZotdNn— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) July 13, 2023
The weather service had earlier issued a Tornado Warning for several Illinois cities, including Chicago, Cicero and Evanston that expired at 7:45 p.m.
A “damaging tornado” was also confirmed to have been moving northeast through central Cook County, the weather service said, while urging residents to “seek shelter now!”
The extent of the damage was not immediately known.
Early afternoon on Wednesday, Chicago’s National Weather Service branch had tweeted that there was a threat of severe thunderstorms throughout the evening with the main threats being damaging winds and hail as well as the potential of tornadoes.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport had warned passengers to monitor flights for delays.
“Severe weather is imminent,” the airport said. “If you’re in the airport, please exercise caution, and follow the instructions of all airport personnel. Service on the Airport Transit System is suspended until the threat of severe weather has passed.”
At about 8 p.m., the weather service proclaimed online that “our forecast area is currently tornado warning free” after having issued several throughout the previous few hours.
