Memorial Day travel chaos: storms delay flights and threaten millions across the South
Severe weather across the South and Central United States disrupts flights and road travel during one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year, Memorial Day.
After the busy Memorial Day weekend, millions of Americans traveling home encountered weather disturbances across the southern and central parts of the United States. Sudden thunderstorms with reports of tornadoes and large hail affected high travel routes and major airline hubs, like those in Texas.
By Monday morning, flight delays were in the hundreds, with cancellations also in the dozens, according to FlightAware. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport — one of the major travel hubs — suffered from some of the worst delays, as travelers faced long lines across terminals amid the storms and high travel traffic.
Severe weather impacts air and road travel
The Dallas-Fort Worth region experienced multiple rounds of thunderstorms, high winds, and damaging hail over the weekend which affected airline schedules at one of American Airlines' busiest hubs. Almost 1.4 million travelers were expected to travel through the airport during the holiday timeframe, creating significant bottlenecks.
On Sunday, more than 180 accounts of severe weather were reported to National Weather Service Offices, including at least six preliminary tornadoes in Texas and New Mexico. Large hail, reported to be about 6 inches wide, was also reported across portions of Texas. The storm system is expected to last through Tuesday and impact areas from Texas to Florida.
Millions remain under weather alerts
According to the National Weather Service, 9 million residents in Texas and Louisiana were still at risk for damaging winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes while into Memorial Day. Cities, like Austin, San Antonio, and Shreveport, were still under warnings.
Flooding wasn't just a concern for more than 12 million people nationally, in areas of the South, as Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana were at risk. On Florida's coasts, holiday storms threatened to disrupt travel plans at Orlando International Airport, where officials were expecting nearly a million travelers over the weekend.
