Chaos Across the Skies Deadly Tornadoes and Storms Ground Thousands of U.S. Flights
Severe weather across the U.S. has caused widespread travel disruptions, with thousands of flights delayed or canceled. Deadly tornadoes hit the Southeast, including Texas, while high winds and heavy snow impacted the West Coast. As dangerous conditions continue, travel chaos and power outages are expected to worsen.
Severe weather disrupted holiday travel across the U.S. today, with deadly tornadoes in the Southeast and heavy snow and winds on the West Coast causing widespread flight delays and cancellations. According to FlightAware, over 7,000 flights were delayed, and more than 200 were canceled.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta reported delays on about one-third of its flights, while nearly half of the departures from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston experienced delays.
In the Southeast, at least 10 tornadoes struck Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, leaving one person dead near Houston, according to the National Weather Service and local authorities. Those numbers will probably go up, forecaster Aaron Gleason of the Storm Prediction Center cautioned. In Brazoria County, Texas—about 45 miles south of Houston—one death and four injuries were reported, with many homes and schools heavily damaged or destroyed. Social media images depicted scattered debris from homes, snapped trees, and toppled utility poles littering streets and lawns.
Meanwhile, the West Coast faced high winds, with gusts reaching up to 150 mph in the Tahoe Basin’s high elevations and up to 50 mph at lower levels. Heavy rainfall is forecast from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, with 4 to 6 inches of rain expected before New Year’s Eve and up to 3 feet of snow in the Lake Tahoe area. The National Weather Service warned that damaging winds could topple trees and power lines, leading to widespread power outages.
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