Thousands of people sat on the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare International Airport late Sunday into Monday during an active tornado warning, according to a student meteorologist.
“Disaster was narrowly avoided at Chicago O’Hare International Airport tonight as dozens of airplanes carrying thousands of people sat on taxiways during a tornado warning,” storm chaser and student meteorologist Colin McCarthy said on social media in the early hours of Monday morning. A tornado is believed to have touched down less than two miles away from the runway, he added, only adding to the potential threat to life.
Some people appear to have taken to social media to ask why they were trapped aboard an airplane during such a potentially life-threatening situation.
“After American Airlines passengers, Spirit Airlines passengers now complain of being trapped on the Apron at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport in the middle of a storm and the advance of tornado,” an aviation news account posted.
Triple Strike at 1221am on Monday morning. Simultaneous lightning strikes on the Hancock, Trump Chicago and Sears Tower in Chicago. One image. #weather #news #ilwx #chicago #storm pic.twitter.com/9T2oEhILFt
— Barry Butler Photography (@barrybutler9) July 15, 2024
❗❗ SEVERE WEATHER ❗❗ Storms are raging through the Chicago suburbs tonight. This intense video was sent in from Sandy W. in Maple Park. Watch continued coverage here: https://t.co/Oe9FwKVXwD pic.twitter.com/hhWiKkiSNy
— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) July 16, 2024
Footage and photos shared on social media shows the slew of wild weather hitting the greater Chicago area as various divisions of the National Weather Service (NWS) issued repeated warnings for tornadoes, severe storms and heavy rain.
As many as 10 tornadoes were reported throughout the area Monday night, CBS reported. Many residents awoke Tuesday to power outages caused by flooding and downed trees.
Disaster was narrowly avoided at Chicago O’Hare International Airport tonight as dozens of airplanes carrying thousands of people sat on taxiways during a tornado warning.
A tornado was confirmed to have touched down less than 2 miles east of the airport. pic.twitter.com/Pt608Jp6pc
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) July 16, 2024
Tonight will probably go down as one of the most prolific QLCS tornado producing events in Chicago recorded weather history. This may end up being classified a derecho. NWS Chicago Issued 16+ Tornado Warnings this evening, their most in a single day since April 20th, 2004, and… pic.twitter.com/WXiUBUZBiS
— Noah Bergren (@NbergWX) July 16, 2024
At least one large tornado was reported on the ground at O’Hare shortly before 10:00 p.m., while another was spotted nearby, which may be the same noted by McCarthy. (RELATED: Tornado Warnings Continue In Path, Wake Of Hurricane Beryl)
The storms continue through Tuesday as they move toward the Mid-Atlantic and New England by Wednesday, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) did not immediately respond to emails from the Daily Caller.