Mar 18, 2008 10:59 am US/Central
American Airlines Cancels All Dallas Flights
High Wind Forces Airline Decision
Widespread Rain Expected, Flooding Possible
FORT WORTH (CBS) ―
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High water slowed some drivers down in Dallas on March 18, 2008.
KTVT / KTXA
High winds and heavy rain grounded hundreds of flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Tuesday and caused American Airlines to cancel all flights in and out of the city for the day.
The roughly 700 canceled flights will be put into a backlog until at least Thursday. "It's going to be a tough afternoon," said airport spokesman Ken Capps. "Everyone is working hard to keep passengers as comfortable as possible in the terminals."
A control tower also was briefly evacuated when a funnel cloud was spotted, reported CBS station KTVT-TV in Dallas.
Federal Aviation Adminstration officials evacuated the airport's west tower for about 15 minutes after seeing a funnel cloud over a highway.
Late Tuesday morning, National Weather Service meteorologists detected thunderstorms with heavy rain covering a 35-mile swath south of the metropolitan area. The storm front was moving northeast at 35 mph, according to the weather service.
Thunderstorms will enter Dallas and eastern Tarrant counties through early afternoon. Radar indicates that 1 to 2 inches of rain has already fallen. Another 1 to 2 inches will be possible.
There will likely be a break in the rain later Tuesday afternoon before another round of heavy rain rolls in during the evening and overnight hours.
There is still the potential for tornadoes to the south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. A tornado watch has been issued for counties to the southeast.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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