Lightning lighted up the skies over much of New York City Thursday night
A series of strong to severe thunderstorms struck the Northeast on Thursday. Damaging winds and hail in some places accompanied the disruptive storms, which peaked in intensity during the evening commute along the I-95 corridor, one of the busiest highway corridors in the United States and returned again later that night.
The National Weather Service had a severe thunderstorm watch in place for the zone from northeast Pennsylvania to southeast Maine until 8 p.m. local time.
Thousands of travelers found their flights either delayed or cancelled due to the severe weather. Some 7,591 flights within, into, and out of the United States experienced delays while an additional 891 were cancelled.
The delays and cancellations were largely concentrated at airports in the Northeast. New York’s LaGuardia Airport saw the most cancellations, with 90, representing 15% of its operations, plus an additional 145 – 24% of the day’s flights – were delayed. Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International, Boston Logan International, and Washington Ronald Reagan National airports saw similar numbers.
The temperature in Central Park hit 91° F (33° C) on Thursday and is expected to hit 94° F (35° C) on Friday and 92° F (33.3° C) on Saturday, with thunderstorms expected Saturday night before a period of cooler weather moves into the region starting on Sunday.
On Friday, fewer delays and cancellations were expected. As of 10:30 a.m., 162 flights within, into, and out of the United States had been cancelled, while 1,841 delays had been posted. Many of the delays were due to the need to reposition aircraft and crewmembers after Thursday’s numerous delays and cancellations.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
