Gusts ripple the water on the ground.
In Terminal 1, water drips from the ceiling over Gate C27, pooling on the vinyl chairs below. A gate agent looks up at the crash of thunder. From the window of the American Airlines operations tower at O'Hare, where about 20 people coordinate the arrival and departure of the company's planes, comes a shout. As everyone turns, another bolt of lightning snakes out of the dark clouds to the west. Dennis Quinn, the afternoon ramp manager, asks the employee next to him, who saw the strike.