Flights delayed as heavy rain soaks Chicago area

CHICAGO (STMW) - A burst of severe weather across the Chicago area late Friday afternoon is expected to give way to more rainfall throughout the night, causing travel times at the city’s airports to start ticking up.

A flash flood warning is in effect until 12:45 a.m. for parts of Cook, Will and DuPage counties, mostly concentrated in the south suburbs as well as northwest Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

Between 1 and 3 more inches of rain could fall, with wind gusts of up to 60 mph and quarter-size hail possible, forecasters said.

A tornado touched down just south of Frankfurt and west of Monee, damaging several homes and snapping trees in the area, according to a forecaster from the weather service’s Romeville office. No injuries were reported.

The city’s Department of Aviation urged customers to check with airlines before heading to O’Hare or Midway airports, where delays were expected to pile up through the night due to the storms.

Rain also postponed the NASCAR Truck Series race Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway.

The race was rescheduled for Saturday morning after a heavy storm blew over the track late in the qualifying session. Thunder and lightning brought qualifying to an end, and NASCAR eventually waived off the race, too.

Another round of showers is expected and could linger until early Saturday morning before skies give way to plenty of sun and a high of about 73.