Severe weather adds wrinkle to Memorial Day weekend travel

(NewsNation) — With the threat of weather affecting states across the nation for Memorial Day, its impact is being felt directly at airports and the record number of passengers taking to the skies this weekend.

At Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, some people aren’t even thinking about the flights home yet because they are still trying to get to their Memorial Day destinations. That’s because nationwide, there have been thousands of flight delays or cancellations every day since Thursday.

Most of those flight delays have been weather related, with tornadoes reported in Iowa, Nebraska and Texas, as well as hail and flash flooding throughout the Midwest and in the Northeast. There were some 2,000 delays or cancellations between the two airports in Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth.

Another outbreak of severe weather is forecast for Sunday, putting 39 million people at risk for strong tornadoes, more damaging hail and winds expected to reach up to 75 mph. The cities with the greatest threat are St. Louis and Indianapolis, so flights headed to or from airports there could see the bulk of any delays or cancellation.

As of 11:45 a.m. ET Sunday, there were nearly 1,300 delays and 34 cancellations of flights into or out of the U.S., according to FlightAware. Most of those were at Dallas Fort Worth, followed by Chicago’s O’Hare and Atlanta. The greatest threats for delays and cancellations is in the Midwest, where storms are expected to roll through.

Most passengers say they didn’t expect or plan for just how many people would be traveling this weekend, and severe weather is adding another layer to their travel turmoil.

Some 50,000 flights are expected nationwide Sunday, and if the weather does end up being similarly as severe as we have seen the past few days, upward of 10% of flights around the country could be delayed or cancelled.