Thousands of flights delayed across the US as storms hit holiday travellers

WASHINGTON: Severe weather disrupted holiday travel on Saturday across the U.S. with deadly tornadoes in the southeast and heavy snow and wind on the west coast, delaying or canceling thousands of flights across the country.

More than 7,000 flights in the U.S. were delayed on Saturday, according to the tracking site FlightAware, and more than 200 were canceled.

About a third of the flights were delayed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, according to FlightAware, and nearly half of the flights originating from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston were delayed.

At least 10 tornadoes touched down in the southeastern U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi on Saturday, leaving one person dead near Houston, the National Weather Service and local law enforcement said.”

Those numbers will probably go up,” said forecaster Aaron Gleason, with the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.

The one death and four injuries were reported Saturday in Brazoria County, Texas, about 45 miles south of Houston, according to the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials say that many homes and schools were severely damaged or destroyed. Images on social media show scattered ruins of homes and snapped trees and utility poles strewn across streets and lawns.

Out west, high winds, with gusts up to 150 mph in the high elevations of the Tahoe Basin in California and 50 mph at lower elevations hit the area this weekend and with heavy rainfall expected from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, forecasters said.

Between four to six inches of rain are expected to fall before New Year’s Eve and up to 3 feet of snow in Lake Tahoe, forecasters said. “Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines,” the Weather Service warned. “Widespread power outages are possible.”