Nearly 200 flights have been canceled at Chicago's two commercial airports Wednesday as freezing rain, ice and high winds impact the area.
O'Hare Airport reported that 152 flights had been canceled as of 5:30 p.m.. Another 43 were canceled at Midway Airport around the same time.
A winter weather system bringing blizzard warnings to Minnesota and winter storm warnings to Wisconsin inched its way into the Chicago area Wednesday morning, with ice, sleet, freezing rain, thunder and winds gusting as high as 35 miles per hour set to impact different parts of the region throughout the day, the NBC 5 Storm Team said.
Weather problems contributed to more than 1,200 canceled flights across the country by midmorning, according to tracking service FlightAware. About one third of those canceled flights – roughly 400 – were due to arrive or depart from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
For much of the Chicago area, the storm has come in the form of freezing rain, heavy downpours, sleet and strong, gusting winds.
In Northern Cook, Lake, Kane and DeKalb counties, a winter weather advisory will remain in effect until 6 a.m. Thursday.
There, ice projections reach up to two tenths of an inch, though some locations could reach even higher.
Weather
Winds are expected to remain strong across the area, with gusts up to 35 mph creating difficult travel conditions.
Across the area, a mix of strong winds and wintery precipitation has strongly impacted the afternoon commute, particularly in northern and western suburbs.
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That rain will continue to grow heavier in the early evening hours, bringing the potential for a few thunderstorms and flooding across parts of the Chicago area. Anywhere from 1-2 inches of rain is expected, though in some locations those numbers could reach up to 3 inches.
"Difficult travel conditions are possible," the NWS says, adding residents and drivers should "prepare for possible power outages."
Wednesday evening, sleet and steady rain are expected to gradually come to an end, though some precipitation could remain overnight. However, strong winds are expected to persist, and even increase up to 40 mph Thursday.
