The United States is preparing for one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, but the threat of severe weather has already caused hundreds of flight cancellations.
A tornado watch was issued for southern Texas and Louisiana on Thursday, CNN reported. In Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered ground stops at two airports, CBS reported. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday activated emergency response resources in the state.
“Several areas of the United States are being monitored for potentially hazardous weather for several days on either side of New Year’s Day,” the National Weather Service said in a post on X.
Nearly 800 flights were canceled in the U.S. on Thursday, with more than 90 already canceled on Friday, according to Flight Aware. Seven flights were canceled in advance on Saturday.
Evan Bentley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center, said in a video posted to “Threat” is the top priority. Details such as how strong the threat will be and the “exact corridor” remain unclear, but Bentley said there is “increasing concern that we will see a large number of storms with severe weather threats.” . It will be there on Saturday.
“Multiple storms are expected with the potential for everything from hail to winds to tornadoes,” Bentley said. “This is a very active time of year for holiday travel, so we want to make sure that anyone in or passing through that corridor is aware of the weather threat.”
Additionally, “If you plan to be in the area on Saturday, be sure to know that there are multiple ways to obtain watches and warnings, and to stay aware of forecasts that may change as the weather approaches. ” he added. ”
Nearly 40 million travelers are expected to be screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) between Dec. 19 and Jan. 2, an increase from last year, the agency said. Friday, Dec. 27, was expected to be one of the top three busiest days during that period, TSA wrote to X.
AAA predicted that more than 100 million people will travel more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) between December 21 and January 1.
