Flight delays expected at Kansas City International Airport amid severe storms
Arriving flights are being delayed at and diverted from the Kansas City International Airport amid intensely high winds and strong storms that are being felt across the metropolitan area.
The delays are occurring because the air traffic controllers have been instructed to leave the control tower as a safety precaution, according to a tweet from KCI. Much of the Kansas City metro area is under a severe thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch.
Kansas City saw howling winds with damaging gusts throughout Wednesday. Western Kansas has seen schools and roads closed as strong winds have created a “wall of dust.” In Independence, several power lines were reported to be down and a tree also struck an unoccupied home in Overland Park.
Earlier Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, issued a tornado watch for parts of the Midwest, including areas north of the Kansas City metro.
The watch is in effect until 8 p.m. and includes portions of northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri stretches north into western and central Iowa, eastern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota and south-central Minnesota.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 6:49 PM.
