Hundreds of Chicago flights were canceled Wednesday morning as airports braced for a massive winter storm expected to dump more than a half of a foot of snow in some areas.
Just before noon Wednesday, all Southwest Airlines departures from Midway Airport were canceled.
By 4p.m., more than 860 flights had been canceled traveling in and out of O’Hare International Airport, and another 310 at Chicago’s Midway.
American Airlines said Wednesday afternoon it had canceled more than 175 flights at O'Hare Airport.
Models showed accumulating snowfall at O’Hare is expected to reach 3.1 inches by late Thursday, and 4.6 inches at Midway.
Earlier in the day, a Blizzard Warning was issued for Kankakee, Iroquois, and Ford Counties in Illinois as well as many parts of northwest Indiana with up to 9 inches of snow expected in some parts of the state.
Strong winds will also gust upwards of 55 mph at times, according to NWS, whipping the snow around and potentially creating hazardous travel conditions. The National Weather Service said white-out conditions would be likely in portions of the state, as well as near-zero visibility and dangerous travel conditions.