About 44 million people are expected to travel over Memorial Day weekend, but severe spring weather is expected to bring scorching heat to South Texas and Florida, as well as showers and thunderstorms across the country, potentially canceling some festivities.
Summer fun is already underway, with nearly 3 million people screened at TSA checkpoints on Thursday. — This is the second-highest number of tests in the agency's history. The busiest airports so far are Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Federal Aviation Administration said last week that it expects the Memorial Day weekend to be the busiest since 2010, with 53,515 flights operating on Thursday and 50,129 on Friday.
But the skies may not be on the party's side, as heavy rain and severe thunderstorms are expected to continue across the Midwest and Southern Plains on Friday, with rainfall rates reaching up to 2 inches per hour.
A line of destructive storms is expected to move across the Midwest Friday through the evening, bringing heavy rainfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour. From Chicago, Illinois, to Austin, Texas, 45 million people are at risk, with the greatest risks being destructive hail, strong winds and possibly some tornadoes.
Severe thunderstorm watches have been issued for parts of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin until 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Eastern), with the risk of tornadoes and wind gusts up to 75 mph possible.
That means major delays are possible at major airports in Chicago, St. Louis and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Scattered storms will head into the Northeast on Saturday, while another wave of severe weather will develop across the Central and Southern Plains before moving into parts of the Middle Mississippi River Basin and the Ohio Valley, according to the National Weather Service.
On Saturday, severe weather affecting Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri will put 16 million people at risk.
Severe weather is likely to worsen again on Sunday, putting 39 million people at risk of powerful tornadoes, destructive hail and wind gusts of up to 75 mph. Cities most at risk include St. Louis and Indianapolis.
Meanwhile, the NWS said “dangerous and potentially record-breaking heat” will continue across South Texas, the Gulf Coast and South Florida through Memorial Day.
A heat warning is in effect until 7 pm ET (8 pm EST) for parts of South Texas, where heat index values are expected to reach up to 114.
Rain and thunderstorms are expected on Memorial Day along the East Coast, strong winds in the Midwest, and extreme heat and humidity in the South. Delays are possible at airports in Chicago, Detroit, New York-Newark, Philadelphia and Washington.
The weekend weather comes after a week of severe weather in the Midwest and South. Tornadoes have been reported every day since Sunday, with 21 more reported yesterday.
