More air travel disasters struck over the weekend as thousands of flights were canceled in and out of the Northeast, namely at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York and Newark Airport in New Jersey due to bad weather.
According to Flight Aware, there were 346 flight cancelations between the three airports on Saturday and another 1,013 between the three on Sunday.
Mass thunderstorms and flash flooding caused ground stops at both JFK and LGA, though all three airports issued warnings to travelers on social media about checking their flight statuses before arriving.
Due to heavy rain & fog, customers are advised to check with their airline before coming to the airport.
— LaGuardia Airport (@LGAairport) July 16, 2023
#EWR, Weather conditions have caused EWR Airport flight disruptions. Please check with your airline to determine the status of your flight.
— Newark Liberty International Airport (@EWRairport) July 16, 2023
JFK experiencing delays/cancellations due to weather. Allow extra time & contact airline for flight status before heading to airport.
— John F. Kennedy Airport (@JFKairport) July 16, 2023
Hundreds lamented on social media about the mass cancelations at the three airports, with many citing multiple flight cancelations and an inability to rebook.
— Arion Williams (@arion_williams) July 17, 2023
My 8 am United flight back home out of Newark was cancelled this morning, rebooked on a 8 pm Delta tonight that has also just been cancelled. Now earliest out is tmrw afternoon on Jet Blue. In a related note, anyone doing anything fun in NYC tonight? Lol
— Gabe Prewitt (@gabe_prewitt) July 16, 2023
.@united has to be the worst airline I’ve ever experienced. Cancelled what looks to be 90% of their flights out of Newark today quoting weather (though other airlines are flying out no issue). Mass chaos at their customer service stand. People are pissed
— Elon Musk Paroty (@Ryne_Alexander) July 9, 2023
The National Weather Service issued flash flood and severe weather warnings throughout the day on Sunday before issuing a tornado warning late afternoon for the area including parts of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island until 3 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/eRFqCKGnJl
— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) July 16, 2023
According to local outlet ABC 7, it’s estimated that areas of New York received upwards of four to eight inches of rainfall totals on Sunday.