Dallas Weather Brings Airport Delays | Weather.com

Weather in Dallas Thursday threw a serious wrench into holiday travel.

H​undreds of flights were canceled or delayed at Dallas-Fort Worth International, the third busiest and ninth most weather-delayed airport in the nation. The FAA issued ground stops throughout the day due to thunderstorms, backing up flights by 90 minutes or more.

Dozens of flights were also impacted at Dallas Love Field, with departure delays of one hour or more.

“Rain started Thursday morning in Dallas as a system moved through the region bringing strong winds and prompting a flash flood warning due to heavy rain,” weather.com digital meteorologist Sara Tonks said Thursday afternoon.

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T​he storms also brought hail south of the Dallas metro, according to storm reports tracked by the National Weather Service.

“The severe weather threat was also likely to cause disruptions for planes flying in and out of Houston starting midday and lasting through the evening hours, where there is an enhanced threat of severe weather,” Tonks said. “Any planes that need to fly over Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana tonight may need to take a more circuitous route to avoid the storms and any associated turbulence.”

“The National Weather Service is warning of flooding on streets and highways, which could be hazardous to any holiday travelers on the roads,” Tonks said.

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T​hose traveling overnight should be especially cautious.

“Storms will have the potential to be severe going into early Friday. Not everyone will see severe storms, but those that do could see impacts like flooding due to heavy rain coming down in a short span of time. The ground is already saturated which limits how much the ground can absorb,” weather.com on-camera meteorologist Danielle Banks said. “Again, remember to turn around, don’t drown. Never try to cross a water covered roadway!”

Areas of patchy fog could also make it harder for drivers to see in the dark, but Banks said visibility should improve by mid-morning Friday.

Thursday wasn’t the only day of travel woes at DFW. More than 1,500 flights to or from the airport were canceled or delayed Tuesday through Wednesday according to online tracker FlightAware, the most at any airport in the U.S. on those days.

It all came as airport officials projected this year would be DFW’s busiest holiday season ever, with 4.7 million passengers expected between Dec. 20 and Jan. 7, a 2.4% increase over last year.

Weather.com staff writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.