Severe weather threatens US flights during one of busiest travel weekends

As the US braces for one of its busiest travel weekends of the year, the threat of severe weather has already led to hundreds of flight cancellations.

Tornado watches were issued in the southern states of Texas and Louisiana on Thursday, CNN reported. In Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered ground stops at two airports, CBS reported. Governor Greg Abbott of Texas activated emergency response resources in the state on Thursday.

“Several areas across the U.S. are being watched for potential hazardous weather spanning a few days either side of New Year’s Day,” the National Weather Service wrote in a post on X.

Nearly 800 flights were cancelled in the US on Thursday and more than 90 flights have been cancelled already on Friday, according to Flight Aware. Seven flights have been cancelled preemptively for Saturday.

In a video posted on X, Evan Bentley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center, said a “severe weather threat” affecting east Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for this upcoming weekend is top of mind. Although the details, such as how intense the threat will turn out to be and the “exact corridor”, remain uncertain, Bentley said, “we do have an increasing concern that there are going to be a lot of storms with a severe weather threat there on Saturday.

“We are expecting multiple rounds of storms with the potential for all hazards, from hail to winds to even potentially tornadoes,” Bentley said. “With it being a pretty active time of year for holiday travel we want to make sure anyone who is in that corridor or is traveling through that corridor is aware of the weather threat.”

He added: “Make sure that if you’re gonna find yourself in that part of the country on Saturday that you have multiple ways to get watches and warnings and that you keep an eye on the forecast for anything that may change as it approaches.”

Nearly 40 million travelers are expected to be screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) between 19 December and 2 January, an increase from last year, according to the TSA. Friday, 27 December, was expected to be among the top three busiest days during that period, the TSA wrote on X.

The AAA projected that more than 100 million people would travel 50 miles (80km) or more between 21 December and 1 January.