Fourth of July Travel Chaos:
New York Airports Cancel 385 Flights with Thousands more Delayed
-100mph Hurricane Arthur Hammers North Carolina and Rains off Celebrations
- Almost 400 flights cancelled by New York airports as Hurricane Arthur moves over East Coast bringing 100mph winds
- Thousands of flights delayed as families face transport chaos and Fourth of July celebrations are rained off
- Passengers report delays of up to three hour delays at airports between Washington, D.C., and New York
- More than 20,000 reported to be without power in North Carolina after storm upgraded to Category II
Daily Mail UK, 4 July 2014
Since Thursday New York airports have cancelled a total of 385 flights as cities were forced to cancel Fourth of July plans as Hurricane Arthur landed near Cape Lookout, North Carolina (center). Thousands more flights have been delayed, with passengers at Newark Liberty International reporting delays of up to three hours. Another 20,000 people in North Carolina are also without power this morning as 100mph winds tear down power lines and rain lashes houses.
More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled across the East Coast, with 385 of those in New York alone, after Hurricane Arthur made landfall last night with winds of up to 100mph forcing cities to cancel their Fourth of July plans.
Travellers trying to get home to their families for celebrations faced chaos as thousands more were delayed, with travellers at New York's Newark Liberty Airport facing delays of up to three hours.
Fourth of July festivities in several cities in Maine, New Hampshire and New Jersey have been cancelled and moved to tomorrow or Sunday, while officials in Maine have delayed their fireworks until August 2.
Almost 400 flights have been cancelled at New York airports as Hurricane Arthur made landfall last night, bringing 100mph winds and lashing rain (the storm pictured by Reid Wiseman from the International Space Station)
Passengers at New York's airports have faced delays of up to three hours as hundreds of flights are cancelled. At La Guardia (pictured), 83 flights have been cancelled since yesterday
Almost 20,000 people were without power this morning as the storm came ashore late last night, shortly after being upgraded to Category II
Fourth of July celebrations in Maine, New Hampshire and New Jersey have been cancelled and moved to tomorrow or Sunday after lashing rain forced people to run for cover or stay indoors
Organisers in Boston moved their annual festival from Friday to Thursday after Hurricane warnings. Yesterday they were forced to cut the concerts short to start the fireworks, narrowly missing heavy rain which then began falling.
Flight Aware reports that, since yesterday, there have been 385 cancellations at New York's main airports - including Kennedy International, Newark Liberty and La Guardia - with a further 598 delays.
According to the
Daily Beast, a total of 1,149 flights have been cancelled across the East Coast so far, with another 4,800 delayed.
Four cruise ships were also diverted to avoid the path of the storm. Norwegian Gem cancelled a scheduled port of call at Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas due to the incoming storm.
Three ships operated by Royal Caribbean also cancelled scheduled stops at CocoCay in the Bahamas in a bid to move on and stay ahead of Hurricane Arthur and its surrounding high winds and rain.
Majesty of the Seas, Enchantment of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas will instead spend extra time at sea.
More than 20,000 customers were without power near North Carolina's coast early on Friday morning, according to utility Duke Energy.
Arthur strengthened to a Category 2 hurricane Thursday night, its winds gusting up to 101mph, before it made landfall near the southern end of the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Little change was expected in the storm's strength overnight and Friday, and Arthur was expected to weaken as it travels northward and slings rain along the East Coast.
Preparations: Lifeguards and firefighters voluntarily set down a lifeguard stand, rather than have it damaged from the coming of Hurricane Arthur, at Atlantic Beach, N.C, on Thursday
Arthur's here: The Category 2 hurricane made landfall near the southern end of the Outer Banks in North Carolina Thursday night
Tracking the storm: Just before midnight Thursday, Arthur was located about 5 miles northwest of Cape Lookout and 65 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Dark and stormy: The skyline of Lower Manhattan is seen under the arrival of a summer storm in New York Thursday
Lights out for Lady Liberty: The Statue of Liberty is seen under gathering storm clouds Thursday
The hurricane reached land at 11.15pm between Cape Lookout and Beaufort, North Carolina, near the southern end of the Outer Banks, a 200-mile string of narrow barrier islands with about 57,000 permanent residents.
The islands are susceptible to high winds, rough seas and road-clogging sands, prompting an exodus that began Wednesday night.
Among the tourists leaving Hatteras Island were 27-year-old Nichole Specht and 28-year-old Ryan Witman of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The couple started driving at 3.30am Thursday on North Carolina Highway 12, the only road on and off Hatteras.
‘We were just saying we were really, really lucky this year that the weather was so great, and then this,’ Specht said as she ended a two-week vacation.
Many island residents, meanwhile, decided to ride out the powerful storm rather than risk losing access to homes connected to the mainland by a highway prone to washouts.
In the last hours before the hurricane's approach late Thursday, Lena Lines helped to move furniture from the basement to the first floor of the home she shares with her parents to save it from possible flooding. They live in a complex of canals and sound-front homes in the shadow of a memorial to the Wright Brothers, who made the first powered flight in Kill Devil Hills.
Before the storm hit, tourism officials had expected 250,000 people to travel to the Outer Banks for the holiday weekend. Gov. Pat McCrory sought to strike a balance between a stern warning to vacationers and optimism that part of the busy weekend could be salvaged.
‘Of course, this holiday weekend, the July 4th weekend, is one of the biggest weekends for coastal tourism in the state, and we anticipate a beautiful weekend after the Tropical Storm Arthur or the Hurricane Arthur is out of North Carolina,’ he said.
Red flag day: The storm is churning up dangerous conditions on beaches from Florida to New England - rip currents, flooding and rough water. Daytona Beach, Florida is seen here on Wednesday
Fleeing inland: Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Vacationers are voluntarily fleeing other parts of the flood-prone varrier islands
Battening down the hatches: Peter LeWando puts plywood sheets over the windows of the apartment where he lives in Avon, North Carolina, in the Outer Banks on Thursday
Planning ahead: Nicole Specht and and Ryan Witman pack their Honda CRV on the Outer Banks to head back home to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Hurricane Arthur has cut short Fourth of July vacations for thousands of vacationers
Arthur, the first named storm of the Atlantic season, prompted a hurricane warning for much of the North Carolina coast. On the Outer Banks' Ocracoke Island, accessible only by ferry, a voluntary evacuation was underway.
Tropical storm warnings were also in effect for coastal areas in South Carolina and Virginia and as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
On the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, no evacuations were planned, but residents who have lived through many a fierce storm said they know better than to totally relax.
Just before midnight Thursday, Arthur was located about 5 miles northwest of Cape Lookout and 65 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was moving northeast at 18 mph.
Torrential rain and high winds from South Carolina to Boston threatened to hamper Fourth of July travel for millions of Americans. Nearly 500 flights have been delayed and 300 canceled Thursday.
The storm is also bringing dangerous conditions to beaches up and down the coast, as the rough seas stir up rip currents, powerful waves and coastal flooding.
A Wednesday night thunderstorm left parts of New York City and Upstate New York flooded. A section of the facade inside an underpass of the Brooklyn Bridge collapsed, injuring five people.
Additional thunderstorms brought more than an inch of rain to the Northeast Thursday evening. In New York City, a flash flood warning is in effect until noon Friday.
Officials in many cities prepared for the worst. The annual Boston Pops Fourth of July concert and fireworks show was rescheduled for Thursday because of potential heavy rain from Arthur. The fireworks thundered and flashed over the Charles River, just beating the storm.
Early celebration: Spectators wave flags during a concert at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade in Boston, Thursday, July 3, 2014. The annual Boston Pops Fourth of July concert was moved up a day because of Hurricane Arthur
Show must go on: The Beach Boys, including original members Mike Love, second from left, and Bruce Johnston, third from left, perform at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade in Boston
Spectacular sight: The fireworks thundered and flashed over the Charles River in Boston, just beating the Thursday night storm
Patriotic: Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Thompson, right, of Detroit, and Megan Schinker, 13, of Stow, Ohio, watch a reading by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in Boston
Belt it out: Megan Hilty performs during a concert at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade
Warnings: The entire North Carolina coast and some of South Carolina has been put on notice ahead of Hurricane Arthur
Forecasters say Hurricane Arthur won't fully make landfall - but it will be very close - and likely pass straight over the Outer Banks
Travel nightmare? Flights are already heavily delayed at all of the airports between Washington, D.C., and New York City. Boston's Logan International and both major North Carolina airports are still operating as normal
Before that Beach Boys founder Mike Love, Broadway star Megan Hilty and the Boston Children's Chorus made their way through lively performances and thousands of revelers sang along to patriotic songs.
Augusta, Maine, moved its fireworks display to Aug. 2 to coincide with an annual festival, while several New Hampshire cities moved their fireworks shows to either Saturday or Sunday. In New Jersey, Atlantic City and Ocean City moved their fireworks to Sunday.
In New York City the annual Macy's fireworks show will be back on the East River after five years on the Hudson River. A spokesman said the show, the largest Fourth of July fireworks display in the nation, will go on no matter Friday's weather.
Another New York tradition is the Nathan's hot dog eating contest at Coney Island, where champion Joey Chestnut, who ate 69 wieners and buns in 10 minutes last year, will defend his title on Friday.
In Oklahoma, the city of Pauls Valley has its own July 4 food competition: a watermelon seed-spitting contest. The record, set in 1989, is 66 feet, 11 inches.
Before the storm hit, tourism officials had expected 250,000 people to travel to the Outer Banks for the holiday weekend. Gov. Pat McCrory sought to strike a balance between a stern warning to vacationers and optimism that part of the busy weekend could be salvaged.
But the next day, even as the storm gathered strength, he said: 'Of course, this holiday weekend, the July 4th weekend, is one of the biggest weekends for coastal tourism in the state, and we anticipate a beautiful weekend after the Tropical Storm Arthur or the Hurricane Arthur is out of North Carolina.'
Hurricane Arthur has proved an unwelcome visitor to the Outer Banks, which depends on summer visitors for much of its economy
On Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, high winds are making for dangerous conditions
Hardly swimming weather: Beach goers huddle on the beach at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina on Thursday
Some visitors stayed put, hopeful the fast-moving storm would follow predictions to pass through by Friday afternoon. About 20 miles north of the only bridge off Hatteras, Sean Fitzgerald and his 5-year-old son, Cade, enjoyed a sunny morning lounging in beach chairs in the town of Kill Devil Hills.
The sand was dotted with tourists. A handful of surfers took to the water. Like all areas north of Oregon Inlet, Kill Devils Hills wasn't under an evacuation. Fitzgerald said he saw no need to disrupt his family's vacation.
'I plan to sit on the beach as long as the sun is here,' then head out for a seafood dinner, said Fitzgerald, 44, of Fairfax, Virginia.
Those who don't evacuate the islands should prepare for possibly getting stuck for several days without food, water or power, National Hurricane Center forecaster Stacy Stewart said early Thursday.
'We want the public to take this system very seriously, go ahead and start their preparations because time is beginning to run out,' he said.
Arthur, the first named storm of the Atlantic season, prompted a hurricane warning for much of the North Carolina coast. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for coastal areas in South Carolina and Virginia.
On the Outer Banks' Ocracoke Island, accessible only by ferry, a voluntary evacuation was underway. Officials said ferry service would end at 5pm.
Some bathers in Wrightsville Beach seemed to enjoy the rough conditions that the hurricane brought - though they stayed out of the water
In Carolina Beach, North Carolina, police blocked off beach access as the hurricane approached the coast
Before sunset Wednesday on Highway 12, a long line of cars, trailers and recreational vehicles formed a steady stream of traffic. The road has been sliced apart twice in recent years as storms cut temporary channels from the ocean to the sound. N.C. 12 is easily blocked by sand and water.
Officials called the evacuation for Hatteras Island residents and visitors mandatory, but some residents were likely to stay, as in past storms.
Mike Rabe of Virginia Beach, Virginia, planned to remain in his Outer Banks beach home the entire weekend. He and his wife, Jan, stowed lawn furniture and anything else that could be tossed about by winds, then planned to help a neighbor.
'I'm going to ride it out,' Rabe, 53, said.
As Arthur made landfall on Thursday, it narrowly missed out on being the first hurricane to do so on July Fourth, according to National Hurricane Center research that goes back to the 1850s.
The Northeast, parts of Texas and the Rocky Mountains can expect thunderstorms and rain for the Fourth of July
Bright sunshiny day: Saturday is forecast to be beautiful from Los Angeles to Boston - with a few patches of storms in the upper Midwest and the Atlantic coast of Florida
More sun: Sunday is also slated to be beautiful for much of the nation - though the southwest to rise into the triple digits