Airlines cancel flights at RDU as strong storms move through NC
Severe weather marching east toward the Triangle delayed or canceled dozens of flights at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Monday, in many cases because of weather conditions elsewhere.
As of 3:30 p.m., 75 flights in and out of RDU had been canceled and another 175 were delayed, according to FlightAware. Flights to and from Atlanta, the New York metropolitan area and Florida were among the most affected.
By 3:30 p.m., nearly two thirds of the roughly 400 flights scheduled to leave or arrive at RDU on Monday had either been canceled or delayed.
Some of the problems were holdovers from late Sunday, when bad weather contributed to flight problems in Florida and the Midwest. Canceled flights can prevent airlines from having planes where they need them to be, rippling across schedules in places not directly hit by the weather.
Delta Air Lines and its regional subsidiary Endeavor Air had 34 cancellations between them at RDU, more than any other airlines. Delta, with its hub in Atlanta in the path of the storm, warned travelers on Saturday that “severe weather on March 16 will likely disrupt travel across Eastern North America.”
As always, RDU officials urge people to check with their airlines before heading to the airport to catch a departing flight or to pick up an arriving traveler.
A strong cold front swept across North Carolina on Monday, bringing waves of heavy rain and gusty winds. The National Weather Service had placed the Triangle under a tornado watch until 8 p.m., but then lifted the watch as the front moved through.
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 10:37 AM.
