Travelers headed home for the holiday season might be frustrated by the current SFO ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. A winter storm is expected to bring rain throughout Wednesday afternoon and evening to the region.
At 8 a.m., the FAA declared a ground delay at SFO “due to low ceilings.” The solid cloud deck has caused incoming flights to face delays averaging 1 hour and 38 minutes, with a maximum delay of just under five hours. Then, at 11:24 a.m., the government agency issued a ground stop for all arrivals due to wind. Wind speeds are currently about 20 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The ground stop is expected to lift around 12:45 p.m., with a less than 30% chance of being extended.
Flights headed into SFO impacted by the cloud deck are expected to depart from Los Angeles, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New York, Houston, Jacksonville, Fort Worth, Cleveland, Denver, Oakland, Seattle, Boston, Miami, Kansas City, Memphis, Indianapolis, Albuquerque, Minneapolis, Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary, according to the FAA website. If you’re picking someone up from SFO who is headed back from these destinations, it would be wise to check in with them first.
“As passengers continue to travel for the holiday, the FAA implements traffic initiatives to ensure safety. Today, we expect high traffic volume along the East Coast and in the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace. Additionally, we expect low ceilings and visibility from Boston through Central Florida and in San Francisco,” the FAA told SFGATE in a statement.
As of 12:40 p.m. Wednesday, there were 264 delayed flights at the airport and six cancellations, according to FlightAware. Departing flights may also be impacted, so checking with your airline for potential schedule adjustments is advisable.
The ground delay for low clouds is expected to lift shortly before midnight Wednesday. Low ceilings are expected to continue at about 2,500 feet for the next 24 hours, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service told SFGATE.
