Winter Storm Grounds O'Hare Air Traffic, Cancels More Than 700 Flights

CHICAGO — Travelers hoping to get in and out of Chicago’s two major airports on Friday may be in for a long wait as Friday’s winter storm has caused federal officials to ground air traffic at O’Hare International Airport, where hundreds of flights had already been canceled.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the ground stop around 6:30 a.m. on Friday and initially ordered all flights grounded until for at least an hour. But that order was extended as heavy and blowing snow continues throughout the greater Chicago area.

As of Friday morning, more than 700 flights at O’Hare and Midway airports had already been canceled. As of 7 a.m. on Friday, 548 flights at O’Hare had already been canceled while another 73 had been delayed, according to FlightAware.com, a flight tracking website.

At Midway, the website reported that 176 flights had been canceled as of Friday morning with another 10 flights delayed.

The heavy snow is expected to continue throughout Friday and into Saturday as parts of the greater Chicago area could see close to a foot of snow, the National Weather Service said. Winds of between 40-50 mph. are expected to make travel treacherous for drivers and transportation agencies around Chicago are encouraging drivers to stay off the roads unless they absolutely need to be out.