Chicago flood watch update: Which areas are affected? Ground stop at Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Chicago residents faced a volatile weather day on Thursday as a line of thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois. The developing weather system has already prompted a Flood Watch covering dozens of counties and led to flight disruptions at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport
According to the National Weather Service, flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible across portions of northern Illinois. Authorities have issued a flood watch for large parts of the Chicago metropolitan area till Jun 11, 11:00 pm CDT.
Areas under the Flood Watch include Boone, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Kankakee, Lake, Lee, La Salle, McHenry, Ogle, Winnebago, Cook, Grundy and Will counties, among others. The alert covers both the Rockford region and much of the greater Chicago metropolitan area.
O’Hare flights halted amid thunderstorms
The deteriorating weather has also affected one of the nation’s busiest airports.
Air traffic monitoring service ATC Alerts reported that the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA)issued a ground stop at Chicago O’Hare International Airport because of thunderstorms.
A ground stop means aircraft destined for the airport are held at their departure locations until conditions improve or traffic flow restrictions are lifted.
FAA status information showed weather-related traffic management measures in effect at O’Hare, with thunderstorms contributing to significant operational disruptions.
According to the last update from the FAA at 12:51 pm CDT, the average delay of flights due to the ground stop stands at 7 hours and 17 minutes.
(This is a developing story)