More than 300 flights were delayed Monday afternoon at Denver International Airport as severe thunderstorms, large hail and possible tornadoes were forecast for the Denver metro area. Two flights were fully canceled as the weather threat built toward the region after 2 p.m.
In all, 321 flights at the airport were affected, including more than half that originated in Denver and 152 that were bound for the city. The delays reached both sides of the schedule at one of the region’s busiest travel hubs, cutting into departures from Denver and arrivals into the airport at the same time.
The National Weather Service projected hail as large as 3.5 inches for the metro area, along with high winds, with the strongest weather expected to extend up to Fort Collins and east across the plains. The threat was expected to intensify as it moved east toward Kansas, giving airlines and passengers little room to wait for conditions to improve before the disruption hit.
What made the interruption more severe was that the airport was absorbing major delays and cancellations before the worst weather had even been confirmed on the ground. The forecast alone was enough to ripple through the schedule, a sign of how quickly operations at Denver International can tighten when the atmosphere turns unstable over the Front Range.
The unanswered question for travelers was how long the disruption would last once the storms moved through. For now, the message from Monday afternoon was clear: the combination of severe thunderstorms, large hail and the chance of tornadoes was already knocking Denver International Airport off schedule before the first major storm line arrived.
