Severe thunderstorms raked Chicago and the US Midwest on Tuesday, triggering tornado warnings and disrupting hundreds of flights.
A tornado warning was issued after forecasters detected a potentially dangerous storm near Downers Grove, with another near Glendale Heights in Chicago’s suburbs at 10:38 a.m. local time. There were other reports of potential tornadoes across Illinois and Indiana.
Waves of thunderstorms have delayed or canceled flights across the eastern half of the US for several weeks amid heat waves that have led to bands of extreme weather. The contiguous 48 states posted their warmest July on record in data going back to 1895.
As of 1:55 p.m. New York time, nearly 1,200 flights into or out of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport had been canceled or delayed, according to FlightAware. More than 400 flights into or out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York were canceled or delayed.
More than 900,000 homes and businesses across the US were without power as of 1:58 p.m. New York time, with Indiana and Illinois hardest hit, according to PowerOutage.com.
The storms also triggered numerous flood warnings and watches from Indiana into western Pennsylvania and Virginia, the National Weather Service said. As of 7 a.m., as much as 3 inches of rain had fallen in parts of Ohio, with police reporting flooding near Fairfield and Hocking counties.
New York City is forecast to reach 88F Tuesday, with a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. A coastal flood watch is also in effect for parts of southern Queens and Nassau counties, as well as southern Fairfield and Westchester counties, because of higher-than-usual tides.
With assistance from Brian Eckhouse.
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