The National Weather Service issued Tornado Watch 352 on Thursday for more than 30 counties across New York, Vermont and Massachusetts, valid until 3:00 PM EDT, threatening flight operations at airports across the Northeast corridor.
The watch, issued by the NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, covers all 14 Vermont counties, Berkshire County in Massachusetts and a large section of upstate and central New York. Conditions do not yet constitute a warning, but the NWS urged residents to identify shelter locations and monitor updates.
The Federal Aviation Administration flagged high winds as a potential source of delays at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) on Thursday. The watch area is also home to smaller regional airports, including Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) in Vermont and Albany International Airport (ALB) in New York, which have historically absorbed significant disruption during Northeast weather events. The wider watch zone encompasses counties including Albany, Broome, Cayuga, Jefferson and Lewis in New York, alongside all of Vermont’s counties from Addison to Windsor.
Pattern of Disruption at Northeast Airports
Thursday’s watch follows a sustained period of weather-related flight disruption across the Northeast. During a comparable severe weather event on June 12, Burlington International Airport recorded a 50% cancellation rate, while Worcester Regional Airport in Massachusetts saw 100% of its LaGuardia-bound flights terminated. The FAA imposed a ground stop at LaGuardia that halted all departures during peak morning operations on that date, contributing to 110 cancellations and 211 delays at the airport alone.
Newark Liberty recorded 211 delays and 32 cancellations on the same day, making the combined New York metro area disruption on June 12 the most severe single-event disruption to the Northeast corridor in the ongoing period of instability. The FAA‘s daily air traffic report has listed the New York and Boston airports under weather advisories on multiple days this month. LaGuardia‘s exposure to disruption is structurally higher than hub airports in other regions because the airport handles a disproportionate share of short-haul Northeast flying, leaving passengers on routes to Burlington, Albany and Worcester with limited rerouting options when a ground stop is active.
World Cup Travel Adds Further Pressure
The severe weather risk lands during a peak demand period for Northeast air travel. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which opened on June 11 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, has increased passenger volumes on routes connecting host cities including New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Major carriers including United Airlines have issued weather-related travel waivers covering affected routes. Rail passengers have also been affected, with disruption reported at New York Penn Station on routes connecting multiple World Cup host cities.
The NWS noted that the watch is not a warning and that no tornado warnings had been issued for Vermont as of midday Thursday. However, meteorologists have warned that the storm system driving the watch carries the potential for winds reaching severe thresholds. Travelers with departures from airports in or near the watch zone on Thursday afternoon were advised to check airline apps and the FAA‘s live National Airspace System dashboard at nasstatus.faa.gov before proceeding to the airport.
