Massachusetts

Severe Storms Disrupt Air Traffic at Logan Airport

Severe thunderstorms led to flooding and downed trees in areas across Massachusetts. They also caused disruption in air travel.

The National Weather Service's Boston Center announced Saturday afternoon on Twitter that all air traffic had been halted going into Logan Airport due to lightning. Departures slowly started to resume just after 5 p.m. Saturday.

According to officials, numerous flight diversions were reported during the time the airport was closed.

One father from Fort Lauderdale, Florida was in town to bring his daughter to Boston College for orientation. John Koehler said he was desperately trying to stay entertained for the last four hours as he dealt with the delays.

"We ended up leaving late because we had a ground hold down there based on the weather up here. And we had to circle out in western Massachusetts for quite some time. So we were an hour late," he said.

He also said they lost some of their bags in the confusion.

Outside of the airport, traffic is backed up, making the commute in and out of Logan a painfully slow one.

"I expect it's a pretty typical experience for people today. It's just been a bad day," Koehler said.

Arrivals that were pushed back are still coming in, but for the most part everything is nearly back to normal.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority also reported disruptions on the Greenbush Line of the Commuter Rail Saturday afternoon. According to the MBTA, riders faced delays of up to 30 minutes due to crossing gate malfunctions and signal issues between Cohasset and North Scituate caused by lightning strikes. Officials worked to fix the issues.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued Saturday afternoon for several areas across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Hail fell in Attleboro and heavy rains caused flooding in Somerville Saturday afternoon.

A large tree fell on a home in Duxbury early Saturday morning. Duxbury Fire says the home was not structurally damaged. 

Police responded to reports of flooding on the right lane of Route 95 northbound near Exit 20 in Newton early Saturday morning. Authorities shut down the right lane to traffic as they worked to clear the catch basin.

The photo above shows lightning lighting up the sky over the Charles River in Boston on Saturday morning.

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