Flight cancellations at Chicago airports today amid winter storm

CHICAGO (CBS)-- As a winter storm hit the Chicago area Tuesday, airlines reported flight cancellations at O'Hare and Midway international airports throughout the day.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning night for Kane, McHenry, La Salle, Lake (Illinois), and DeKalb counties, which could see snowfall totals of 8 inches or more, causing dangerous driving conditions even into the Wednesday morning rush.

The rest of the area saw wet snow alternating with rain that led to slippery travel conditions. The highest snow totals during the entire event were to the far west.    

As of just before 10:41 p.m. Tuesday, 235 flights had been cancelled at O'Hare International Airport, and 42 had been cancelled at Midway International Airport.

A ground stop was also issued for O'Hare due to the snow late Tuesday afternoon. A ground stop requires planes to remain on the ground at their airport of origin.

In this case, all inbound flights headed for O'Hare were held at their point of origin, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The ground stop had been lifted by 4:30 p.m., but was reinstated an hour later. It was in effect until 6:30 p.m., and a ground delay persisted afterward.

Some arriving flights to O'Hare were delayed an average of 1 hour and 46 minutes as a result of the weather disruption.