NYC Airports Face Major Delays, Cancellations After Flash Flooding; Heat Wave Looms

The New York metro area is drying itself off on Tuesday morning after heavy rainfall fell fast and furious in the area around New York City on Monday night.

About 2 inches of rainfall fell on the area surrounding New York City between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. local time on Monday evening, making it the second-wettest hour on record. (A record 3.47 inches fell during a single hour in 2021 from Hurricane Ida.) The rain tapered off through the rest of the night.

The weather caused flash flooding across New York City, shutting down service on some subway lines. For travelers flying in and out of the area, the rainfall caused nightmares.

According to FlightAware, aside from delays, 195 flights were canceled at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) on Monday, 34% of its entire schedule. At Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), 183 flights were canceled, representing 29% of its total schedule. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) saw 131 cancellations (27% of its schedule), and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) had 126 cancellations (16% of its scheduled flights). Most of those delays came from FAA ground delays longer than three hours.

The problems continued on Tuesday, with delays and cancellations persisting at Newark, LaGuardia, among other airports. Here was the situation as of 7:30 a.m. local time:

• Newark Liberty International (EWR): 75 cancellations (12% of its schedule) and 26 delays (4%).
• LaGuardia (LGA): 34 cancellations (6% of its schedule) and 24 delays (4% of its schedule).
• Reagan National (DCA): 28 cancellations (6% of its schedule) and 15 delays (3%).
• Philadelphia International (PHL): 15 cancellations (3% of its schedule) and 19 delays (3% of its schedule).

The most impacted airlines were Republic, which had close to 400 flights canceled; American, which had 350 of its flights canceled; United, which had 241; Endeavor Air, which had 163; and Delta Air Lines, which had 145 flights canceled. United was the only one of those airlines to issue a waiver.

As the airports recover, a Hazardous Weather Outlook is in place for the same area from Wednesday through Monday, though travelers may have respite from flight delays caused by rain. The latest warning is for “moderate to high potential of 95 F to low 100 F heat indices,” including a 105 F heat index for Thursday.