Over 150 flights delayed at O’Hare and Midway as storms persist and temperatures rise to low 70s

Over 150 flights have been delayed at O’Hare and Midway airports as showers and thunderstorms were expected to persist and affect the Friday morning commute.

Ground stops at both airports expired about 8 a.m. after being ordered around 5 a.m. Friday, impacting departures to both airports, according to the FAA.

As of 8:05 a.m., over 130 flights at O’Hare have been delayed, according to FlightAware. Over 30 delays were reported at Midway.

0.4 inches of rain fell at Midway and 0.02 inches were reported at O’Hare, the National Weather Service said.

The weather service received some reports of pea-sized hail but weren’t expecting any reported damages from the overnight storms.

Showers and thunderstorms were expected to persist into Friday morning and may impact the morning commute, according to the weather service.

“Anytime that it’s raining, you just want to go a little bit slower and allow extra room between you and the car in front of you,” David King, a meteorologist with the weather service, said.

Friday’s high is expected to be in the low 70s, but won’t get close to the record high of 79 degrees set in 1986.

There is a 30 to 40 percent chance for rain Saturday, but severe storms could possibly hit the metro Chicago area by Sunday.

“We can have all severe threats possible, whether it’s hail, damaging winds, or even some tornadoes,” King said.