Severe Thunderstorms Causing Delays to Pile Up at New York Area Airports on Monday

Bad weather in the New York area is forcing heavy cancellations and delays at airports for the second straight day.

John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International, and LaGuardia are all experiencing significant delays because of what the National Weather Service (NWS) is calling “severe thunderstorms.”

“Showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop today ahead of an approaching frontal system. Some of the storms could become strong to severe with a risk for localized flash flooding, mainly this afternoon and evening,” the NWS said in its latest update.

As of 1 p.m. EST, here is the situation at those airports, all according to FlightAware:

• JFK International Airport has 302 delays (4% of departures and 20% of arrivals) and 164 cancellations (13% of departures and 6% of arrivals). The FAA had a ground stop for JFK until at least 11:45 a.m. and says that a ground delay, averaging more than two hours, is possible through the end of Monday.
• LaGuardia has 272 delays (10% of all departures and 18% of all arrivals) and 207 cancellations (11% of departures and 10% of arrivals). The FAA currently has a ground stop in place until 2 p.m. and says there is an average delay of more than 1.5 hours due to the thunderstorms that could last through Monday.
• Newark Liberty has 317 delays (12% of all departures and 15% of arrivals) and 269 cancellations (19% of departures and 18% of arrivals). The FAA has a ground stop in place for Newark until 2:15 p.m. on Monday and a ground delay of 85 minutes that could last until the end of the day.

The delays are expected to persist through Monday and into Tuesday, another day when the NWS expects more severe weather in the area.  

All airports are advising travelers to check with their airline before heading to the airport.

“Weather conditions have caused EWR Airport flight disruptions. Please check with your airline to determine the status of your flight,” Newark said in a message to its passengers.

“Weather conditions have caused LGA Airport flight disruptions. Check with your airline to determine the status of your flight,” LaGuardia said.