Midwest snow storm grounds hundreds of
Chicago flights
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[December 12, 2016]
(Reuters) - Hundreds of flights into
and out of Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports were canceled on Sunday
as a winter storm system dumped moderate to heavy snow on the Upper
Midwest and Lower Great Lakes regions before heading toward the U.S.
Northeast.
A winter storm warning was in effect in the Chicago area on Sunday
afternoon, with total accumulations of up to 10 inches (25 cm) expected
by midnight CST, the National Weather Service said.
It warned of difficult driving conditions in and around the country's
third-biggest metropolitan area, where snow began falling on Saturday
afternoon.
As much as 13 inches of snow fell in parts of Michigan and up to 9
inches in parts of Minnesota by 8 a.m. CST on Sunday, according to the
National Weather Service.
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At O'Hare International Airport, the world's fourth-busiest airport,
United Air Lines and American Airlines have scratched most regional
flights and some mainline service, while Southwest Air has canceled most
flights out of Midway International on Sunday evening and Monday
morning, the airports said.
Passengers took to Twitter to vent their frustrations over one of the
first winter storms to snarl air traffic in the region this season.
"To all our fans in Vegas - we are stuck in Chicago from the snow storm,
we are so so sorry. Winter weather is (sic) wrecked our plans. This
sucks," wrote the rock band One Republic in a Twitter post. The group
had a show scheduled on Sunday night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
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![](../images/121216pics/news_a3.jpg)
A man braces himself against the wind as he walks along mounds of
snow and ice on North Avenue beach at Lake Michigan in Chicago,Illinois February
26, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young
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All told, more than 1,200 flights into and out of O'Hare were
canceled as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Flightaware
tracking service, while nearly 200 Midway flights were scratched.
At Detroit's Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, a Delta flight
arriving from Buffalo, New York, skidded off the runway and came to
a stop on a grassy verge around midday on Sunday, but there were no
injuries, local media reported.
Representatives of the airport and the airline could not be reached
immediately to confirm the reports.
(Reporting By Frank McGurty; Editing by Alan Crosby)
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