Large parts of US are hit by severe weather resulting in events and flights being cancelled

Major parts of the United States including North-Central, Central and Eastern regions have all been hit by a bout of severe weather, which includes large hail and powerful wind gusts. 

1,600 flights were delayed and cancelled across the US after severe thunderstorms slammed both Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport, according to Travel and Tour World. 

Major carriers including American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue and Air Canada were affected by the disruption. American Airlines was the most impacted with 443 delays or 38% of their schedule, according to TTW.  

Dallas-Fort Worth experienced 1,023 disrupted flights, with 846 delayed and 177 cancelled outright, on 15th June. 132 aircraft were on the ground at Dallas-Fort Worth, with a market value of $5 billion, according to analysis by ALPS Aerospace Visualiser. 

651 flights being disrupted at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on the 15th of June. At the time of the disruption, there were 159 aircraft on the ground at the airport, with a market value of $5 billion, according to ALPS Aerospace Visualiser. 

Atlanta Hartsfield, along with JFK, La Guardia and Detroit was hit by severe weather on the previous weekend too, as reported by Russell. 

Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival, held in Manchester, Tennessee, was cancelled on Friday evening, after one night following both delays to set times and an evacuation notice. The decision was made following the National Weather Service’s forecast that said heavy rain would put campers at Bonnaroo Farm at risk. 

The chance of hail or thunderstorm occurring within Manchester, Tennessee between 6th June to 24th June was 1.45% according to analysis by ALPS Contingency. The figure was based on weather data reaching back to 1996. 

The festival is offering a full refund to one-day ticketholders for either the Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and a 75% refund to those with tickets for the full weekend. This is not the first time that the festival has had to cancel or postpone.  

In 2020, the festival was cancelled because of the pandemic, and in 2021, it was aborted due to the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. A decision that led to the festival being moved to June to avoid the peak hurricane season. 

On the weekend of 6th to 8th June, central and eastern US was hit by severe thunderstorms that extended from eastern New Mexico through to the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina.  

Warm, humid air from the Gulf, combined with cool air from the Rockies and a strong jet overhead, created the conditions for the eruption of the violent thunderstorms, AccuWeather reported. 

North-Central US, which missed out on this heavy rain, is now set to experience severe weather this week, with large hail and powerful wind gusts expected.  

45 million people across the central US states, which includes the major cities of Minneapolis, Des Moines and Kansas City, may find themselves in an elevated thunderstorm risk zone.  

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center highlighted an area across Minnesota with a Level 3 out of 5 risk rating for severe thunderstorms, which includes southern Minnesota, containing Minneapolis, St Paul and Bloomington. 

It is not unique for this type of weather to occur within this region. June and July is typically when the northern plains and Upper Midwest experience their most adverse weather from thunderstorms.  

According to analysis by NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, more than 200 tornadoes form every year during the first month of meteorological summer, with many impacting the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska, Fox Weather reported.