Hurricane Debby travel chaos as more than 2,000 flights are canceled: American Airlines worst affected – see the full list of delays
Hurricane Debby is causing a major travel crisis for millions of Americans, with more than 2,000 flights grounded by the deadly storm.
According to FlightAware, more than 20,000 flights had been delayed by 2 p.m. Monday as the Category 1 storm hit Florida in the morning.
Most meteorologists agree that the storm will continue to batter the Sunshine State, moving northeast through Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia on Tuesday.
Passengers wait in line at American Airlines in Terminal B at Philadelphia International Airport, Monday morning, August 5, 2024, as they deal with canceled flights south due to Hurricane Debby
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image, taken at 8:16 a.m. EDT and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Debby, lower left, a Category 1 storm over northern Florida, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024.
The Category 1 storm, moving at 80 mph, made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region Monday morning, leaving more than 220,000 homes in the state without power.
American Airlines has postponed 14 percent of flights scheduled for Monday and canceled 10 percent.
Southwest has canceled 13 percent and five percent have been canceled. Meanwhile, 12 percent of Delta flights have been delayed and three percent have been canceled.
About 22 percent of Spirit flights are delayed and 14 percent are canceled.
JetBlue canceled 26 percent of its flights and delayed 11 percent.
Florida’s airports are hit the hardest.
At Orlando International, 123 flights were delayed and 126 cancelled.
About 112 flights have been delayed and 67 canceled at Miami International. Tampa also has 56 flights delayed and 85 canceled.
More traffic chaos is possible as the storm moves northeast toward Georgia and the Carolinas.
Some meteorologists warn the storm could continue to move northward across Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts for the rest of the week through Saturday.
The full list of cancelled and delayed flights is available on the FlightAware website.
Hurricane Debby is causing travel hell for millions of Americans as more than 2,000 flights are grounded by the deadly storm
Hurricane Debby will move through 10 US states after making landfall in Florida, according to a fearsome model
Hurricane Debby will move through 10 US states after making landfall in Florida, according to a fearsome model
In an aerial view, a Florida National Guard vehicle drives through a flooded street due to rain and storm surge caused by Hurricane Debby on August 5, 2024 in Cedar Key, Florida.
It comes as a 13-year-old boy, who lived near Fanning Spring, died after a tree crushed the roof of his home. There were other adults inside but they were unharmed.
“Storm surge, strong winds and heavy rainfall will impact much of the Florida coastline tonight and into tomorrow,” said hurricane expert Dr. Levi Cowan.
Dr. Cowan compiles storm path projections from reliable sources to create a map of all possible outcomes. His latest map for Debby shows it raging across most of the East Coast as it weakens to storm level.
Dramatic photos show parts of Florida being battered by torrential rain and gale-force winds as the hurricane made landfall Monday morning.
The storm hit Steinhatchee with winds of 80 mph (130 km/h) at 7 a.m. EDT, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The country is just 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from where Hurricane Idalia struck in August 2023 as a Category 3 storm with winds of up to 125 mph (200 km/h), killing 12 people.
Hurricane Debby could bring record-breaking rainfall, catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surges as it moves across northern Florida.