Severe thunderstorms in Dallas-Fort Worth have called off flights at North Texas airports and left half a million people without power.
As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, 17% of flights leaving Dallas Love Field were canceled and 13% of flights leaving DFW International Airport were canceled, according to FlightAware. Delays also were beginning to pile up, with 28% of flights leaving DFW Airport delayed and 30% at Love Field.
Tornado sirens began to go off early in the morning on Tuesday, and a severe thunderstorm watch was issued through 11 a.m. for 21 counties in North and Central Texas, including Dallas, Ellis, Kaufman and Tarrant. A tornado warning was issued for parts of the region until 6:30 a.m.
WEATHER ALERT: Severe weather is impacting the DFW metroplex and DAL operations. If you're in the terminal, please follow directions given by staff. If you're home, watch your local reports for road conditions and stay home, if possible. Stay safe! https://t.co/49Sci6ow9f
— Dallas Love Field Airport (@DallasLoveField) May 28, 2024
The earlier tornado warning, meaning either a tornado had been spotted or radar picked one up, warned storms could bring destructive winds of up to 80 mph and half-dollar-size hail. Such storms have the potential to damage roofs, windows and vehicles.
At Love Field, a line to check bags with Southwest had stretched almost to the security entrance. Travelers were frustrated, many scrambling to figure out where they’d be heading or where their luggage was.
As Britney Spears’ “Stronger” played over the speakers in an empty baggage claim, Shirley Smith of Mesquite sat with her husband, waiting to get their luggage. The couple was heading to Atlanta for a wedding on Wednesday. They are no longer attending after their Southwest flight was canceled and their home in Mesquite had experienced some damage from the storm.
”I’m just grateful that everybody’s safe,” Smith said.
According to the National Weather Service, a top wind gust Tuesday morning at DFW Airport hit 77 mph and some gusts were greater than 70 mph at Love Field. Ground stops and delays were reported at both airports, according to officials; however, those have since been lifted.
“The airport does not have reports of any significant damage from the high winds this morning,” said Heath Montgomery, vice president of communication and marketing at DFW Airport. “However, we do have a handful of trees that were knocked down by the wind, and crews are clearing downed branches from some side roads.”
Lauren Rounds, external marketing and communications manager for the city’s department of aviation said Love Field staff advised passengers to stay away from windows in the terminal for a short period with the lightning and heavy winds earlier Tuesday morning.
“Additionally, traffic light outages were reported near the airport’s entryway and adjacent intersections and the (City of Dallas) Department of Transportation is responding to those reports as quickly as possible,” Rounds said in an email.
DFW and Love Field both had no reported outages as of Tuesday morning.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines had canceled 4% of all of its flights as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, and Dallas-based Southwest Airlines had canceled 3% of its total flights by the same time.
Thousands of people were without power in North Texas after outages Tuesday morning in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Tarrant, Rockwall and Wise counties, according to Oncor’s outage map.
Tornadoes that touched down in North Texas on Saturday evening left seven people dead and about 100 others injured, according to state officials.
