Tropical Storm Debby is leading to significant disruptions at Florida airports as it makes landfall. The plane-tracking website FlightAware reports that on Monday three airports in the state are among the ones with the highest number of cancelled flights as the storm makes its way across the northern part of the state.
Orlando International Airport had 126 cancelled departure flights, Tampa International Airport had 85 cancelled departure flights, and Miami International Airport had 67 cancelled departure flights. That’s about a fifth of each airport’s scheduled departures.
“[Federal Aviation Administration] delay programs are in effect again today across the state, impacting air space traffic over the Southeast,” the Tampa airport told passengers in an operational update. “Delays and cancellations are expected to increase throughout the day.”
Nationwide, 2,000 flights have been cancelled Monday. Debby, which has been downgraded from a hurricane, is expected to be a particularly wet storm in addition to bringing sustained winds maxing out at 65 mph. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, declared a state of emergency for 61 of the state’s 67 counties.
“Severe flooding expected for the southeastern United States for the next several days,” an update from the National Hurricane Center reads.