Hair-raising moment terror-stricken passengers are 'trapped' in 'shaking' aircraft being 'blown back and forth' on the runway after Chicago airport is evacuated amid tornado warning

Passengers on flights trying to leave Chicago O'Hare airport last night were left stranded amid severe storms and a tornado warning. 

As many as ten simultaneous tornadoes were spotted by the National Weather Service in the metropolitan area of the Windy City last night, with one hurtling towards the international airport. 

The storm was so bad that a shelter-in-place order was issued for the area, with passengers in the terminal building being made to get away from windows, while others were told to head underground. 

But passengers already on outbound flights could do little more than watch and wait in terror. According to FlightAware, more than 60 flights were cancelled and over 400 were delayed at O'Hare alone. 

Videos posted to social media showed aircraft being shaken by the tornado. Lightning strikes could be seen arcing across the night sky as heavy rain poured down. 

Courtney Mares, a journalist for Catholic News Agency who was on a plane at the time, said: 'Our plane is sitting on the runway at Chicago O'Hare right now while everyone's phones receive multiple tornado warnings.

'Captain announced that air traffic control and ground control have evacuated.

'Plane is shaking as it is blown back and forth by the wind.' 

Inside the airport, anxious flyers were packed into the terminal buildings shoulder-to-shoulder, with almost everyone inside being unable to move. 

One man, Huntraiel Watson, told his Instagram followers: 'I'm never gonna make it back to Houston.'

One photo, taken by a Chicago DJ, showed countless people standing up in a long corridor. 

Living facilities were also put under strain inside, with one video posted to Instagram showing a long queue for the toilets snaking out of both male and female bathrooms. 

Thankfully, by 1am today the tornado warnings that affected 13million people across three states, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, were revoked. 

Flash flood warnings were left in place until around 4am in parts of Illinois, after storms brought between two and five inches of rain in a matter of hours. 

The US has been battered by extreme weather for weeks. Earlier this month, American cities smashed all-time heat records as scorching temperatures grip the country, with 10 percent of the U.S placed under severe weather warnings. 

Dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest, including Nevada, Palm Springs and Medford tied or broke previous heat records with temperatures well over 100 degrees.

An excessive heat warning, the National Weather Service's highest alert, was put in effect for about 36 million people, or about 10 percent of the population.