US Weather: More than 2,000 flights canceled due to heavy rain, tornado and flash flood warnings | Today’s news
On Tuesday, more than 2,000 flights were reportedly canceled at airports in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, due to warnings of thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash flooding.
Ground stops were issued at airports in New York, D.C., Boston and Baltimore, ABC News reported.
Tornado watch
A tornado watch was issued at 2:05 p.m. local time for parts of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, including the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan, until 9 p.m.
Around 32 million could be detected, the National Weather Service wrote in a post on X.
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Several tornado warnings were issued for New Jersey Tuesday afternoon. At least three tornadoes have been reported in Pennsylvania and New Jersey so far.
In addition to tornadoes, flash flooding was a major threat along much of the Interstate 95 corridor from Philadelphia through New York to Connecticut. Flooded roadways have already been reported in the New York suburbs of Bergen County, New Jersey, and Westchester County, New York.
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The severe weather came days after a weekend storm blocked city streets and forced pedestrians to wade through thigh-high water in some areas.
Further west and south, severe thunderstorms were observed from Missouri to Virginia, including the cities of Louisville, Kentucky, Charleston, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Flooding is also expected in Tennessee, ABC News reported.
Tropical Storm Bertha
Tropical Storm Bertha strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday but was expected to weaken this week as it approaches the US, potentially bringing coastal flooding and heavy rain from the Florida Panhandle to Louisiana. according to the Associated Press.
Bertha is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night somewhere in coastal and sparsely populated Louisiana southeast of New Orleans, said Michael Buchanan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Louisiana.
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Those areas along the northern Gulf Coast were under a tropical storm warning until Wednesday and could see rain and flooding by Thursday morning, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. New Orleans was also under a tropical storm warning.
The storm was about 120 miles (190 kilometers) southwest of Panama City, Florida, and 105 miles (170 kilometers) southeast of Mobile, Alabama, on Tuesday evening. It was moving west at 6 mph (9 km/h) with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph (95 km/h), the hurricane center said. A gradual weakening was forecast from Wednesday to Friday.
Flights were affected
A combined 599 outbound flights and 514 flights were delayed at LaGuardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport as of 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to FlightAware, Bloomberg reported.
Mamdani urges caution
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged New Yorkers to “be careful.”
“Go inside if there is a storm, heavy rain or strong wind,” he said on social media. “If you live in a basement apartment, know your exits and be prepared to move to a higher floor if it starts raining heavily,” he added.
Days after a weekend storm blocked city streets and forced pedestrians to wade through thigh-high water in some areas, up to four inches (10 centimeters) of rain is expected to fall in the New York City area on Tuesday, according to the NWS.
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New York City avoided storms that developed north and west of the city on Tuesday, but rain began in the afternoon and the downpour will intensify until 9 p.m. local time, said Nelson Vaz, an NWS meteorologist.
“We’re seeing more scattered showers and thunderstorms now developing across eastern Pennsylvania into Philadelphia and across northwestern New Jersey,” Vaz said, adding that those storms are headed for New York and could impact rush hour traffic.
During peak rainfall, New York City and northeastern New Jersey could see up to 2.5 inches per hour, more than double the levels where flooding often occurs, NWS meteorologist Jim Connolly said.
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Flood watches are in effect for the region until 2 a.m. local time Wednesday, and parts of northeastern New Jersey, southern Connecticut and Westchester County, New York are under flash flood warnings.
“Please be careful. Go inside if there is a thunderstorm, heavy rain or strong winds,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday in a post on X about Tuesday’s storms. “If you live in a basement apartment, know your exits and be prepared to move to a higher floor if it starts raining heavily.”
