hurricane lee air travel impact

Why are flights canceled today? Here's what to know if you're flying from Phoenix

Severe weather conditions with the threat of flooding are disrupting air travel in the Northeast.

While Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport hasn't had a large number of delays and cancellations in recent days, flights to and from the Northeast are among those affected, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware .

American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all offered travel waivers for passengers who have flights booked during the hazardous weather associated with Hurricane Lee . Flyers should check their airline's policy for details, as the terms for each one is different.

Here's what to know if you're flying to the Northeast.

New restaurants at Sky Harbor: Everything that just opened in Terminal 4

Why are flights canceled today?

Severe weather in the northeast U.S. affected flights in the New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., regions in recent days.

Here's how it affected flights in Phoenix, according to FlightAware data:

Sept. 8: Two arriving flights from and one departing flight to Newark, New Jersey, were canceled. Five Phoenix-Newark flights experienced delays.

Sept. 9: All but three of Sky Harbor's 18 canceled flights were arriving from or departing to the Northeast. The region was responsible for all six of Sky Harbor's canceled arriving flights, plus nine out of Sky Harbor's 12 canceled departures. Flights to and from Newark led the cancelations with six, followed by Philadelphia with five. Most Northeast cities also experienced several delayed arrivals and departures.

Sept. 10: Sky Harbor had four canceled flights associated with the Northeast weather: an arrival from and departure to Baltimore, one Phoenix-Philadelphia flight and one Phoenix-Newark flight.

Sept. 11: As of 11 a.m., no flights between Phoenix and the Northeast were canceled, though Boston, Baltimore and Newark each had one delayed departure from Sky Harbor.

What can travelers do if their flight is canceled or delayed?

Check with your airline to see if you can reschedule your trip.

American , Southwest and United issued travel alerts for the Northeast that allow passengers to rebook without additional charges if they had travel scheduled during a certain time and can travel within the coming days in their original class of service and the original city pairs.

Know your options: Flight canceled or delayed? Here's how to rebook or get a refund

Reach the reporter at  [email protected] . Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:  @salerno_phx .

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Hurricane Beryl - Texas

The forecasted path of Hurricane Beryl in Texas may impact travel to/from/through the destination(s) listed below. Check flight status frequently for up-to-the-minute information about your flight plans, or get updates sent directly to your mobile device or by email with  On-Time Flight Notification.  

Future Travel Rebooking Options:

• A fare difference may apply when the waiver is class to class restrictive and the original booking class is not maintained in the rebooked itinerary.
• When rebooked travel occurs after July 12, 2024, a difference in fare may apply.
• If travel is not able to be rescheduled within these guidelines, customers may cancel their reservation and apply any unused value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket for a period of one year from the original ticket issuance.  Applicable fare difference may apply for new travel dates. Final travel must be completed by end of ticket validity.

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Eligibility only for customers with an Original Ticket Issue Date on or before July 5, 2024. Changes to origins and destinations may result in an increase in fare. Any difference in fare between your original ticket and the new ticket will be collected at the time of booking.

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Flights canceled and cruise itineraries changed as Lee reaches New England, Canada

By Caitlin O'Kane

Updated on: September 16, 2023 / 7:01 PM EDT / CBS News

Lee made landfall in Canada on Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone, bringing heavy rainfall, powerful winds and storm surge to parts of New England and southeastern Canada. Some flights and cruises in those areas have been affected as the storm barreled up the Atlantic coast.

According to FlightAware, which tracks aviation , 117 flights at Boston's Logan International Airport had been canceled as of Saturday evening, following two dozen cancellations on Friday. Another 21 flights at Nantucket Airport and 12 at Martha's Vineyard Airport were also canceled Saturday.

Cape Air, which flies short flights to several Massachusetts airports and in the Caribbean, canceled 129 flights on Saturday after canceling another 45 on Friday, according to FlightAware.

American, Delta and  United Airlines  also offered waivers for flyers traveling to or from several airports in cities that are expected to be affected, including Bangor, Maine, and Boston. The travel days that were expected to be most affected in these areas were Saturday and Sunday. 

Those who are traveling to New England or Canada on these airlines can check if their change fee has been waived  on the airlines' websites.

Lee brought tropical storm conditions to Bermuda Thursday, prompting several airlines to offer waivers to travelers flying in and out of the island nation. Both American and Delta Airlines offered to waive change fees for flyers traveling to or from Bermuda on Thursday and Friday.

Flights were not the only mode of transportation being affected by the storm. Royal Caribbean altered the itineraries of four cruise ships ahead of the hurricane, including one that was scheduled to dock at a port in St. Maarten on Thursday, but did not due to the storm, according to the group that runs the port.

Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas ship was supposed to visit Halifax, Canada on Saturday, but instead spent the day in Manhattan after leaving from Cape Liberty in New Jersey on Friday, according to  Travel Market Report,  which monitors travel trends.

Norwegian Cruise Lines has also canceled the planned stops of its Norwegian Escape ship. After leaving Boston on Tuesday, the ship docked in Eastport, Main instead of Portland. It was supposed to go to Halifax, Canada, but instead will head to New York on on Sunday, where it will finish out the remaining two days of the cruise.

Prince Cruise lines has also diverted ships away from Halifax. Instead of stopping in the Canadian city on Thursday, the Emerald Princess left Saint John, Newfoundland and went straight to its homeport in Brooklyn, New York. It arrived one day earlier than expected, on Friday, a representative for the cruise line told CBS News via email. 

The cruise line's Caribbean Princess ship docked in Boston on Friday to brace for the storm. The rest of the itinerary for the 10-day cruise may also change due to weather. 

"We sincerely apologize for the disappointment and inconvenience these unexpected changes cause our guests, but greatly appreciate their patience and understanding as we prioritize everyone's safety," the representative said.

American Cruise Lines, which has several small ships in Portland, Bangor and New Bedford, Massachusetts, has docked all of its ships in the region ahead of the storm, a representative for the cruise line told CBS News via email. "Further itinerary adjustments will be made, as necessary, according to the weather," the representative said.

CBS News has reached out to these and other cruise lines for more information and is awaiting response. 

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Caitlin O'Kane is a New York City journalist who works on the CBS News social media team as a senior manager of content and production. She writes about a variety of topics and produces "The Uplift," CBS News' streaming show that focuses on good news.

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Tracking Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee

By William B. Davis ,  Madison Dong ,  Judson Jones ,  John Keefe and Bea Malsky Sep. 5, 2023

Lee was a post-tropical cyclone in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with sustained wind speeds of 45 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. Follow our coverage here .

Lee is the 12th named storm to form in the Atlantic in 2023.

In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there would be 12 to 17 named storms this year, a “near-normal” amount. On Aug. 10, NOAA officials revised their estimate upward, to 14 to 21 storms.

There were 14 named storms last year, after two extremely busy Atlantic hurricane seasons in which forecasters ran out of names and had to resort to backup lists. ( A record 30 named storms formed in 2020 .)

This year features an El Niño pattern, which arrived in June. The intermittent climate phenomenon can have wide-ranging effects on weather around the world, and it typically impedes the formation of Atlantic hurricanes.

In the Atlantic, El Niño increases the amount of wind shear, or the change in wind speed and direction from the ocean or land surface into the atmosphere. Hurricanes need a calm environment to form, and the instability caused by increased wind shear makes those conditions less likely. (El Niño has the opposite effect in the Pacific, reducing the amount of wind shear.)

At the same time, this year’s heightened sea surface temperatures pose a number of threats, including the ability to supercharge storms.

Sources and notes

Tracking map Source: National Hurricane Center | Notes: Map shows probabilities of at least five percent. The forecast includes the five days starting up to three hours before the storm’s latest reported time and location.

Arrivals table Sources: New York Times analysis of National Hurricane Center data (arrival times); U.S. Census Bureau and Natural Earth (geographic locations); Google (time zones) | Notes: The table shows predicted arrival times of sustained, tropical-storm-force winds of 39 miles per hour or greater at selected cities if there is a chance such winds could reach those locations. “Earliest possible” times are times when, if tropical-storm-force winds do arrive, there is at least a 10 percent chance they will arrive at the time shown. “Most likely” times are times when, if tropical-storm-force winds do arrive, there is an equal chance that such winds will arrive before and after the time shown.

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Hurricane Lee restrengthens to Category 3. Here’s what’s next.

The storm rapidly intensified, then rapidly weakened, and is strengthening yet again

Hurricane Lee has taken meteorologists for a wild ride. On Thursday, it was barely a hurricane. By Friday, it had blown up into a Category 5, becoming the third-most rapidly intensifying storm ever observed in the Atlantic Ocean. Then it weakened equally quickly. Now, it’s strengthening yet again and has regained major hurricane status as a Category 3. Its peak winds leaped Sunday from 105 to 120 mph, and it is forecast to intensify back to a Category 4 on Monday.

While the forecast for where Lee might end up is uncertain, the risk of a direct hit to the Canadian Maritimes around next weekend is increasing. There’s a slight risk that the northeastern United States could face a close shave as Lee whirls nearby or just offshore.

It’s barely a week until the historic peak of hurricane season in the Atlantic, which falls in mid-September. By October, fewer storms form over the open Atlantic as stronger upper-level winds become more hostile to storm development. Instead, the threat shifts to “homegrown” tropical systems — those that form in the Gulf of Mexico or in the Caribbean Sea.

Heading into the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, experts predicted that record-warm ocean waters would tip the scales toward an anomalously active season. That’s been the case to date, and there’s no reason to expect the ocean basin to simmer down anytime soon.

A first: Category 5 storms have formed in every ocean basin this year

Where is Hurricane Lee and how strong is it?

As of Sunday at 5 p.m., Lee was centered about 285 miles north-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands and was moving west-northwest at 8 mph. Winds were estimated at 120 mph.

Lee’s increase in strength was tied to the following:

• “Hot towers,” or tall thunderstorms, were orbiting Lee’s center or “eye,” which was becoming better defined.
• Hostile wind shear — or changing winds with altitude which disrupt thunderstorm development — had eased.
• The air pressure inside Lee had decreased. That meant a more powerful vortex and stronger inward suction, increasing winds.
• A new eyewall or ring of intense thunderstorms around the storm center was apparent on microwave infrared imagery, which is a special satellite product that allows meteorologists to peer “under the hood” at Lee’s inner structure.

Where is Lee likely to hit?

Lee is going to continue drifting west-northwest. In coming days, it will make a turn to the north, but where exactly it makes that turn remains to be seen.

The storm will be steered north between two weather systems spinning in opposite directions. Over the open Atlantic, a blocking high pressure “ridge” is spinning clockwise. Over the eastern United States, a counterclockwise-spinning “trough” of low pressure will be present. Lee should be shuttled between them and scooped north, but uncertainties in the projected strengths and positions of both steering systems mean we don’t know yet how close to the East Coast the storm will track.

If the track shifts eastward, Bermuda could be in play, too, for at least a fringing, or possibly more direct effects. That would be in the Wednesday-to-Thursday time frame.

New England — especially eastern New England and Downeast Maine — should keep tabs on the system, particularly late this week into the weekend. At least one run of the European model depicted a direct hit to Cape Cod, but that is an outlier scenario.

The most likely scenario still calls for a hit in the Canadian Maritimes. By then, Lee would probably be a nontropical storm but would be just as strong as a hurricane. With a broader wind field, significant surge would be possible, in addition to wind and flooding rains.

Regardless of where Lee heads, the eastern coastline of North America, as well as the Northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas, can expect rough surf and dangerous rip currents.

When might Hurricane Lee make landfall?

The majority of weather models keep Lee’s center offshore of the United States. Assuming it does make landfall in the Canadian Maritimes, it would be in about seven to eight days.

How strong will Lee get?

Lee is projected to become a Category 4 on Monday and remain that intense on Tuesday before slowly weakening as it moves over cooler waters during the second half of the week.

How strong will Lee be when it nears land?

When Lee passes Bermuda, it will probably be a Category 1 or low-end Category 2 storm. Fortunately, it should remain just offshore, sparing Bermuda any direct hit, though tropical storm conditions are possible.

By next weekend, the most likely scenario, though teeming with uncertainty, is for Lee to be a strong Category 1 — or perhaps Category 2-equivalent storm — as it approaches Canada’s maritime provinces. It’s not clear whether it will be fully tropical, but it’s very probable that Lee’s winds will reach farther from the storm’s center. That could bring tropical storm conditions to a much wider swath of coastline.

What do computer models project for Lee?

We can look at a “spaghetti ensemble” plot that captures the range of possibilities with Lee. Darker shadings represent areas with more overlapping possible tracks — meaning a higher likelihood that Lee goes there. Less likely scenarios are in a lighter shading.

What has made Lee stand out?

#Lee 's life story, Chapter 1: From African easterly wave to sudden extreme intensification into a Category 5 #hurricane (wait for it) pic.twitter.com/1EWakTRkBe — Stu Ostro (@StuOstro) September 8, 2023

• Lee was the first Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic this season. Since 2016, there have been seven others. One of them, Michael, made a U.S. landfall at Category 5 strength on Oct. 10, 2018.
• Lee also became the farthest southeast storm to achieve Category 5 status on record in the Atlantic.
• Moreover, Lee’s rapid intensification — spiking from an 80 mph Category 1 to an extreme 160 mph Category 5 in 24 hours — made it the most rapidly intensifying Atlantic storm on record outside the Caribbean, and the third-most swiftly strengthening Atlantic storm on record overall. Rapid intensification, while common with major hurricanes, is made more likely by the effects of human-induced climate change.

Are there any other Atlantic storms to worry about?

Elsewhere in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Margot is midway between the coasts of South America and Africa. It had 50 mph winds early Sunday. On satellite, one could note that the bulk of the thunderstorms were located north-northeast of the low-level swirl, meaning the storm is vertically misaligned. That’s due to changing winds with height in the atmosphere known as “shear.” So long as shear is present, Margot will struggle to strengthen.

It will probably curve north-northwest and become a hurricane in coming days. By Thursday, it should be passing over the open ocean midway between Bermuda and the Azores.

How is this hurricane season stacking up?

Fourteen named storms have formed so far this season, including four hurricanes, three of which became major hurricanes. Activity perked up quickly in mid-August, with Franklin becoming a Category 4 over the open Atlantic and Idalia doing so over the Gulf of Mexico. Idalia eventually struck the Florida Big Bend as a high-end Category 2 or a low-end Category 3, then quickly weakened inland.

In terms of the number of systems, we’ve had more than is typical. Fourteen is sort of normal for an entire season, and we’ve already reached that at the midpoint. On average, a season’s fourth hurricane happens by mid-September, so we’re right on schedule there. That said, only three per year on average become major, and the average date of a season’s third major hurricane is Oct. 28 — meaning we are far outpacing what’s usual when it comes to forming major hurricanes.

US airlines cancel over 1,300 flights due to Hurricane Beryl

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Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Mohammed Safi Shamsi

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