Inside and outside, it was a chaotic scene at O'Hare International Airport Wednesday as a tornado, one of several to hit Illinois in a matter of hours, formed just over the popular Chicago travel hub.
Video captured the moments inside the airport as travelers crowded together to take shelter. Meanwhile, outside, a frightening tornado was quickly forming overhead in a scene that was captured live on NBC Chicago's air as it happened.
A confirmed tornado was on the ground around 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago.
“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," it said.
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Footage posted to social media showed hundreds of travelers and employees crowded together in a concourse.
Kevin Bargnes, director of communications for O’Hare and Chicago Midway International Airport, said Wednesday night that no damage was reported at either airport. NBC Chicago reported warehouses were damaged near one of the runways at O'Hare, however.
Some 173 flights departing the airport were canceled and more than 500 were delayed, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware.
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The tornado was one of several to hit the region Wednesday. The National Weather Service said surveyors were assessing damage to determine where exactly the tornadoes hit, how many touched down and how intense they were.
As of Wednesday afternoon, at least four tornadoes had been confirmed, including two in Elgin, one in Burr Ridge and Stickney and a third in Oswego.
"We still have survey teams in the field across southern McHenry, Lake, northern DuPage, and parts of Cook counties looking at damage from yesterday evening," the NWS reported.
