Denver's ground stop fired, Newark and Tampa ran stops until 6 PM, and Boston Logan holds at 110-minute delays

The 6 PM Thursday update: the 3 PM issue's Denver watch fired as a thunderstorm ground stop running to 7:15 PM ET (1,428 flights), Newark and Tampa ran stops that just ended at 6 PM, and Boston Logan holds at about 110 minutes through 12:59 AM.

What changed: Denver's ground stop is live

The forward-watch the 3 PM issue flagged has verified. At 6:02 PM ET the FAA's Command Center issued a CDM ground stop for Denver (ADVZY 150, signed 6:16 PM ET) for thunderstorms in the D01 TRACON airspace, running through 7:15 PM ET with a medium extension probability. The stop covers 1,428 flights from the first-tier western and central centers (ZLA, ZLC, ZDV, ZKC, ZAB, ZMP), averaging 38 minutes of delay with a 61-minute maximum. Both the FAA homepage and flightcheck.live (checked 6:23 PM ET) confirm Denver as the only active ground stop in the country at delivery.

This is the Slight Risk the SPC Day 1 outlook placed over the Colorado Front Range this morning, and the KKTV Colorado forecast of fewer storms Thursday but "some could still be strong to low-end severe." Denver is the third straight day a Front Range thunderstorm line has forced a terminal program here (a ground stop plus a 78-minute ground delay program Wednesday, a 103-minute program Tuesday), and the second day with a ground stop specifically. FlightAware shows 713 delays and 5 cancellations at Denver so far today, a rolling count the just-started stop will build on through the evening.

Newark and Tampa ran ground stops that just ended

Two more stops fired and cleared in the last three hours. The FAA's operations plan (ADVZY 143, signed 5:39 PM ET) lists both Newark and Tampa as ground stops running until 6 PM ET (2200Z), now expired. Newark's is an escalation from the 3 PM issue, which had the FAA managing Newark with miles-in-trail and holding; by late afternoon that became a formal ground stop. flightcheck shows Newark back on time at 6:23 PM ET.

Tampa re-entered a ground stop after the noon issue's four Florida ground stops (Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa) had all cleared by 3 PM. The operations plan narrative says thunderstorms north of Tampa are "beginning to diminish" and flows are increasing, but Tampa is still posting 46-to-60-minute weather departure delays, with Orlando at 46-to-60 minutes and Miami at 16-to-30 minutes. The Florida convective pulse is easing, not gone.

Boston Logan holds, unchanged all day

Boston Logan's low-ceiling ground delay program is the day's constant. It has sat at about 110 minutes (1 hour 50) since the noon issue, running through 12:59 AM ET, with airborne arrivals at 15 minutes or less. The cause is low visibility and wind, not thunderstorms, and the runway 15R/33L construction limit (through November 1) is the standing capacity reducer. Boston is the only Northeast airport still in a metered program; JFK, LaGuardia, Philadelphia, and the DC airports are all on time, and LaGuardia has only 16-to-30-minute weather departure delays.

The next watches: a staffing trigger for Newark at 7 PM

The operations plan carries the staffing trigger the 3 PM issue flagged into a live window. PHL Area C, the Philadelphia TRACON sector that controls Newark arrivals, is understaffed from 7 to 9 PM ET, and the FAA lists an EWR ground stop or delay program as possible after 7 PM. Two more staffing triggers follow: D10 TRACON (Dallas) from 9 to 11 PM ET, and L30 TRACON (Las Vegas) until 3 AM ET. None has produced a terminal program yet.

Denver itself stays in the plan as a possible ground stop through 10 PM ET, though the active stop is expected to end at 7:15 PM. The FAA's next planning webinar is at 7:15 PM ET (2315Z), which could refine the evening watches. If the Denver stop's medium extension probability pays out, or the PHL Area C staffing converts to an EWR program after 7 PM, that is the next publish trigger.

Routine background and rebooking

San Francisco's construction-driven ground delay program (about 48 minutes, runway 01R/19L work through November 15) and San Diego's volume program (about 31 minutes) both run into the overnight hours. No Denver-specific airline rebooking waiver had been posted as of 6:24 PM ET, 22 minutes into the stop; carriers typically post waivers one to three hours after a program firms up. Check your carrier's travel-alert page directly, since the earlier-this-week Delta and United advisories have largely aged out: American, Delta, United, JetBlue. Live status: nasstatus.faa.gov, FlightQueue.