Millions across the country are waking up to more severe weather Tuesday, with hundreds of flights in and out of the East Coast canceled overnight after thunderstorms ripped through the region and a deadly heat wave suffocated the South.
More than 715 flights in, in and out of the US have been canceled since early Tuesday morning, with nearly 280 of those flights going in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport, according to the online tracker. reported flight.
LaGuardia Airport had more than 115 cancellations, while John F. Kennedy International Airport had more than 70 and Boston Logan International Airport had nearly 60.
Newark, LaGuardia and JFK warned on Twitter that weather conditions were causing flight disruptions, delays and cancellations, as they warned travelers to allow additional time and contact their airlines for updates.
The National Weather Service warned Widespread clumps of showers and thunderstorms were looming over the region until early Tuesday morning, with another front expected to bring more severe weather.
‘It’s definitely an adventure’
For Toya Stewart Downey and her family, severe weather has caused major disruption, turning what was supposed to be a direct flight from New York to Minneapolis into a trip that could last a day.
Stewart Downey, 57, and his two sons, Cameron, 24, and Dallas, 15, had been in New York to celebrate their son’s 16th birthday. When they arrived at LaGuardia around 4 pm ET for their 6:30 pm return flight to Minneapolis,
After hours of waiting, they learned that their own flight had been delayed and then canceled entirely due to severe weather, with the next flight not available until Thursday.
«We said we’d take any flight to any city,» Stewart Downey, director of communications for a Minnesota school district, said in a telephone interview.
She said she and her family ended up having to take a Lyft, which she said Delta Air Lines paid for, to Hartford, Connecticut, a nearly two-hour drive, hoping to catch a flight to Detroit and then eventually Minneapolis.
The trip could result in the family not reaching their destination until Wednesday, he said.
Delta did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment from NBC News.
The family had commitments back home in Minneapolis, Stewart Downey said, adding: «We all want to get back as soon as possible.»
“It’s definitely an adventure,” Cameron said of the unexpected drive home.
The 24-year-old said that after spending nearly 9 hours at LaGuardia and then having to catch a Lyft in the early hours of Tuesday morning, her family was «tired, but I think there’s enough to do and realize that It’s not hard to stay awake either.»
Had they waited for Thursday’s flight, he said «it would have felt a little weird that all of a sudden I would have to be in New York for a whole week.»
Severe weather on the road
More severe weather is expected in the area, with the National Weather Service warning that a front extending from parts of the Great Lakes/Mid-Atlantic to the southeast and then into the Southern Plains was also moving toward the east coast.
The associated front was expected to bring moderate to severe showers and thunderstorms to parts of New York State, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina, with a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms to parts of the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic until Wednesday morning. the weather service said in a later update on Tuesday morning.
“Hazards associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, strong gusts of thunderstorm winds, hail, and a minimal threat of tornadoes,” the weather service said.
Photos and videos shared on social media already appeared to show areas of hailstorms in Pennsylvania and North Carolina on Monday.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned Monday that «severe weather is expected across the state this week, bringing persistent rain showers, thunderstorms and the potential to cause flash flooding.»
“Our state agencies are preparing emergency response assets and we are in close contact with local governments across the state to ensure they are prepared,” Hochul said. “I encourage all New Yorkers to monitor their local weather forecasts, pay attention to alerts, and plan accordingly.”
Along the western end of the eastward-moving front, severe showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop in parts of southern Kansas, Oklahoma, far southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas, the National Weather Service said. , adding that there was an increased risk of severe thunderstorms. place for parts of the Central/Southern Plains through Wednesday morning.
«Hazards associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severe storm wind gusts, hail and a few tornadoes,» along with the threat of «hail of two inches or larger,» it said.
Separate severe showers and thunderstorms were expected in parts of South Dakota and Nebraska.
Potentially record heat in Texas
As many braced for stormy conditions, residents of Texans and neighboring states continue to face intense heat, which turned deadly after two people were killed while walking in Big Bend National Park.
Excessive heat warnings with triple-digit heat indices were expected to continue Tuesday, bringing potentially record-breaking temperatures, the National Weather Service warned.
«The upper-level stalled ridge over the south-central US and the resulting multi-week heat wave will not only continue, but begin to expand over the next few days as the ridge develops to the northeast the weather service said in an online update. .
«Highs from southeastern Arizona to southern New Mexico and into Texas will remain in the 100s Tuesday, with the upper 90s to 100s extending north into the Central Plains and the Mid/Lower Missouri Valley, as well as into east to the Lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday,» he said. .
Some daily records tying or even potentially breaking highs were «once again possible for parts of Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley.»
Recovery after a deadly storm
The death toll from severe weather across the country also continues to rise, with at least three people dead after a storm front wreaked havoc Sunday across the Midwest and South.
One person was killed when a tornado tore down a home in Martin County, Indiana, according to authorities. with Martin County Emergency Management Director Cameron Wolf confirming the death and saying the victim’s injured partner was airlifted to a hospital.
In Arkansas, two people also died when a tree fell on a house in Carlisle, Associated Press reported. A third person was also injured in the incident, according to the outlet.
Elsewhere, more homes were damaged, roads were blocked by tree limbs and debris, and large hail was reported as the same storm front moved through southern and central Indiana and adjacent states.