More than 2,600 flights were canceled and nearly 8,000 delayed by thunderstorms on Sunday, according to the United States. ABC news. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), most of these cancellations and delays were reported from the Northeast region. Here, 1,320 flights were canceled, with more than 350 from New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport alone, it said. NBC news. Severe weather also led to ground stops at John F Kennedy and La Guardian airports, the outlet further reported.
Airlines posted advisories on Twitter urging passengers to check flight times and weather conditions before heading to the airport.
FlightAware data showed that 318 flights were canceled with 426 delays at JFK, 270 canceled and 292 delays at La Guardia, and 259 canceled and 459 delayed flights at Boston Logan International Airport.
The Northeastern United States has witnessed heavy rainfall and flooding in several states. Parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Vermont are on alert for flooding, with states in the region recording rapid rainfall and “life-threatening” flash floods, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The NWS also issued a tornado watch Sunday morning for parts of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island through 3 p.m. EDT pic.twitter.com/eRFqCKGnJl
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) July 16, 2023
Meanwhile, parts of the western and southern U.S. faced heat warnings or advisories on Sunday due to unforgiving, record-breaking temperatures.
The NWS warned of “a widespread and oppressive heat wave” in parts of the Southwest, western Gulf Coast and southern Florida, with sweltering temperatures continuing into the week ahead and heightening health risks for millions.
By Sunday afternoon, California’s famed Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, had hit a near-record temperature of 126 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees Celsius).
Heat waves are more frequent and more intense in major U.S. cities, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, with a frequency of six per year in the 2010s and 2020s compared to two per year in the 1960s.