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Hundreds of delays at Charlotte Douglas International Airport ahead of severe weather Sunday
As of 7:45 a.m., over 450 flights have been delayed or canceled at Charlotte’s airport.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hundreds of flights at Charlotte Douglas International Airport have been delayed or canceled Sunday as severe weather impacts the Southeast, including risks of heavy rain, gusty winds and isolated tornadoes in the Charlotte area.
According to the flight-tracking website Flight-Aware, over 440 flights have been delayed at Charlotte Douglas as of 7:45 a.m. Another 13 flights have been canceled in Charlotte. Of the delays, they’re evenly split among flights to and from Charlotte.
Sunday is a Weather Aware day for the Charlotte region. Weather Impact meteorologist Bekah Birdsall is tracking two waves of storms that could bring severe weather to the Carolinas. The biggest risks will be heavy rain and gusty winds, but we can’t rule out isolated tornadoes, particularly with the second round of storms on Sunday afternoon and early evening.
Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich said he anticipates additional flight delays during Sunday’s thunderstorms due to gusty winds and heavy rain.
A tornado watch is in effect until 1 p.m. for Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford and Union counties. Chester, Lancaster and York counties in South Carolina are also under a tornado watch until 1 p.m.
Sunday’s flight delays come after hundreds of flights were knocked off schedule by weather on Saturday, too. WCNC Charlotte spoke with several people who were stranded at the airport for hours as they tried to catch connecting flights home.
“Got delayed about two hours, two-and-a-half, I think, plus an hour layover,” Kasey Kane said.