A Frontier Airline crosses over the I-190 expressway at O'Hare International Airport, on Nov. 17, 2015.
Flights to Chicago were arriving more than an hour late on average at O'Hare International Airport on Wednesday because of strong crosswinds that prevented the use of the airfield's five east-west parallel runways, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.
As a result, only two diagonal runways were being used to land planes, according to a flight-tracking website sponsored by the Chicago Department of Aviation.
In addition to lengthy delays, more than 230 flights were canceled by midmorning and some planes bound for O'Hare were diverted to other airports, officials said. Departing flights may also be affected, the FAA said.
Strong south-southwest winds blowing up to 35 mph forced O'Hare to abandon use of the east-west runways for landings in favor of two diagonal runways, officials said. Planes are landing from the northeast on two diagonal runways.
O'Hare normally would be using three arrival runways and at least two for departures. On Wednesday, air traffic controllers were using at least one of the diagonal runways for both arrivals and departures. One east-west runway was being used for departures.
No other airports in the U.S. were reporting weather-related delays, according to the FAA.
City and FAA officials said strong crosswinds severely affect O'Hare operations only a small percentage of the year. But when the airport's east-west runways are put on hold due to wind conditions, it creates havoc for passengers and airline schedules.
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