As the US prepares for one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, the threat of severe weather has already led to hundreds of flight cancellations.
Tornado watches were issued Thursday in the southern states of Texas and Louisiana, CNN reported. In Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered ground stops at two airports, CBS reports. Texas Governor Greg Abbott activated emergency response efforts in the state on Thursday.
“Several areas in the U.S. are being watched for potentially hazardous weather for a few days either side of New Year’s Day,” the National Weather Service wrote in a post on X.
According to Flight Aware, almost 800 flights were canceled in the US on Thursday and more than 90 flights on Friday. Seven flights have been preventively canceled for Saturday.
In a video on While details such as how intense the threat will prove to be and the “exact corridor” remain uncertain, Bentley said, “we have increasing concerns that there will be many storms with a severe weather threat.” there on Saturday.
“We expect multiple storms with all possible hazards from hail to wind and even potentially tornadoes,” Bentley said. “Because it’s a pretty active time of year for leisure travel, we want to make sure that anyone who is in or traveling through that corridor is aware of the weather threat.”
He added: “Make sure if you are in that part of the country on Saturday that you have multiple ways to get watches and warnings and that you keep an eye on the weather forecast for anything that may change as it approaches. ”
Nearly 40 million travelers are expected to be screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) between December 19 and January 2, an increase from last year, the TSA said. Friday, December 27, was expected to be among the top three busiest days during that period, the TSA writes on X.
The AAA predicted that more than 100 million people would travel 50 miles or more between December 21 and January 1.
