The Chicago area is hit by heavy storms

More than 6.6 million people Chicago and the surrounding region, including parts of Indiana, were under tornado watches and warnings Tuesday evening as severe storms pummeled the area, the National Weather Service said.

The storms prompted officials at O’Hare International Airport to briefly ground all departing flights and suspend train service Tuesday evening, while asking people at the airport to “exercise caution.”

The NBC News affiliate in Chicago shared video of hundreds of passengers packing up for shelter at the airport.

An early picture of the damage caused by the storms began to emerge Tuesday evening as officials worked to assess damage and confirm tornadoes in several communities west of Chicago. The threat of additional tornadoes moved east into Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky overnight. Late overnight, tornado warnings were issued for parts of Michigan and Indiana. Tornado warnings were issued for Kentucky and Ohio until 6 a.m

The National Weather Service confirmed that there were reports of at least one tornado touchdown in Henry County in western Illinois. Pictures on social media in a Henry County community, flattened metal buildings could be seen and a wooden structure spread across a brick wall.

At least four other tornado sightings were reported by the Weather Service, including three near the city of DeKalb, about 60 miles west of Chicago.

By 10:30 p.m. local time, tornado watches in northeastern Illinois were downgraded to wind advisories as the tornado threat shifted southeast across southern Illinois and Indiana and Kentucky, including Louisville. At approximately 10:45 p.m., the National Weather Service said the severe weather threat for Chicago had ended. About 9.8 million people in these areas were under tornado watch late Tuesday night.