US: Over 900 flights cancelled, 3,165 delayed due to strong storms, flash floods

As of noon, 978 flights were canceled around the US, with most of those out of the New York area’s three major airports and Boston, according to FlightAware. More than 300 flights were canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey alone, while more than 160 flights were canceled at Kennedy International Airport in New York. 

Around 3,165  flights were also delayed.

According to the weather department, there is a moderate risk of excessive rain from Jersey through southwestern Maine that includes Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.

Flooding forced Tweed New Haven Airport in Connecticut to close its terminal Sunday. The small airport, which offers daily commercial flights from one carrier, Avelo Airlines, said in a tweet that the terminal was closed until further notice.

This weekend’s round of storms, fueled by moist air off the Atlantic, is wreaking havoc across the Northeast and threatening tornadoes from Long Island to Maine.

A widespread area, including New York, may get as much as 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain, with some areas getting as much as 6 inches, the National Weather Service said. 

Tornado watches, meaning that the dangerous storms could form, reached from the suburbs north and east of New York through Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and into New Hampshire and southern Maine through 3 p.m. the NWS said.

In Chicago, air quality has reached unhealthy levels as smoke drops down from Canadian wildfires.

Officials in Bucks County’s Upper Makefield Township said torrential rains occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Washington Crossing area. Other parts of the East Coast were experiencing heavy rain, including Vermont. Authorities there said landslides could become a problem on Sunday as the state copes with more rain following days of flooding.

In Pennsylvania, a sudden, torrential downpour turned deadly in Upper Makefield Township. Fire Chief Tim Brewer told reporters that the area got about 6 1/2 to seven inches of rain (about 18 centimeters) in 45 minutes. 

(With inputs from agencies)

Updated: 16 Jul 2023, 11:26 PM IST