EXTREME weather has already caused travel drama ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend, and meteorologists fear that more chaos is coming.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled at four major US airports over the weekend, leaving thousands of passengers scrambling for other options.
Rainy weather could put July 4 travel plans on hold, meteorologists have warned[/caption]
The forecast comes after thunderstorms already cancelled thousands of flights over the weekend[/caption]
Intense thunderstorms rumbled through the Midwest and Northeast on Saturday, and a whopping 1,657 flights were abruptly grounded, according to FlightAware.
On Sunday, 846 more trips were stopped, and 1,317 other flights were cancelled on Monday.
The flight horror caused airports in New York City and Washington DC to start the week with heavy delays, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
John F Kennedy, Newark Liberty, Laguardia, and Ronald Reagan Washington National were all struggling to keep up thanks to the weather.
Now, with a historic 72.2 million people expected to travel for the holiday weekend, meteorologists fear there could be a repeat.
Severe storms were expected to plow through the central and eastern parts of the US at the beginning of this week, bringing strong winds, hail, and threats of flooding in their wake, AccuWeather reported.
Later on, a cold front is expected to pass through the states and cause heavy rainfall on July 4, according to Fox Weather.
Areas from the Ohio Valley to the Southeast are expected to get the brunt of the bad weather, which started brewing in the Northeast on Tuesday.
Cities like New York, Boston, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Atlanta, will be difficult to travel out of this week, according to meteorologists.
Major highways running through Pennsylvania and New Jersey are also on a flood watch starting Tuesday night.
By Wednesday, conditions will clear up in the Midwest, but the Southeast is still under threat of inclement weather.
The Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida could all be hit with storms just two days before Independence Day.
The coastal Southeast is under hurricane threats this holiday weekend, and Floridians should expect lots of rain, the National Hurricane Center said.
“We’re in for a soaker, and it’s going to happen over a holiday weekend,” Fox Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said.
The 10 airports getting a brand new security lane
TSA have announced that a new security lane will be added at ten major airports.
The lanes will make it quicker and easier for active-duty service members to travel.
TSA Precheck discounts for the uniformed services community will also be introduced.
Airports participating in the “Serve with Honor, Travel with Ease”, which will begin in some locations on Tuesday July 1, include:
- San Antonio, Texas
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Atlanta
- Austin, Texas
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- El Paso, Texas
- Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Nashville, Tennessee
- San Diego, California
- Seattle
HOLIDAY WARNING
The weather comes just as a major airport urged travelers to leave their cars at home if they’re flying for the July 4 weekend.
John F Kennedy, one of the airports that was forced to ground all of its flights over the weekend, admitted that millions could face delays because of construction.
The airport is undergoing a massive $19 billion transformation to open two new terminals, and the spread of the work has reached its peak, officials announced.
This has put a strain on highway space entering and exiting the terminals, and caused traffic to bottleneck.
Instead of calling an Uber or Lyft, New Yorkers have now been urged to take the subway or bus to the airport.
The flight drama comes as another major airline warned travelers to pay for trips with their points before September 30 or they risk losing them.
