Tornadoes touch down near Chicago, disrupting air traffic

Tornadoes and thunderstorms battered the greater Chicago area on Wednesday, temporarily forcing O'Hare and Midway airports to halt all air traffic, officials said, as tornado sirens echoed through the third biggest US city. At least eight tornadoes touched down in four counties in northeastern Illinois, including four in Cook County, which is home to Chicago, as officials warned people to take shelter. All departures of commercial flights into O'Hare and Midway airports were grounded, and outgoing flights from the two airports were delayed, the US FAA reported. More than 300 flights in and out of O'Hare and another 32 in and out of Midway were canceled, according to FlightAware. Off-site air traffic controllers assumed control of the airspace as the on-site controllers needed to evacuate the towers at O'Hare and Midway, the FAA said. Normal operations resumed after the storms passed, the FAA said.<br/>