Florida's ground stops cleared and the 2PM Northeast watch fizzled, while Boston Logan holds at 110-minute delays and Denver becomes the 4PM risk

The 3 PM Thursday update: the noon issue's four Florida ground stops (Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa) have cleared and the LaGuardia/Newark watch the noon issue flagged for 2 PM never fired, but Boston Logan's low-ceiling ground delay program is unchanged at about 110 minutes through 12:59 AM, the FAA is now managing Newark with miles-in-trail and holding over a Philadelphia staffing trigger, and Denver is the next risk for a possible ground stop or delay program after 4 PM as a Slight Risk sits over the Colorado Front Range.

What changed: Florida lifted, the Northeast stayed clear

The biggest shift since the noon issue is what did not happen. The FAA's homepage, fetched live at 3:22 PM ET, now lists zero ground stoppages, down from the four Florida airports in ground stops at noon (FAA). The FAA's latest operations plan, advisory ADVZY 113 (signed 1:42 PM ET), states plainly that "ground stops were lifted for Orlando airports and north in ZJX," and that the south Florida stops were extended only to 2 PM ET before expiring (FAA adv_spt). Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa are all back to normal on the FAA's NASSTATUS feed, as are the smaller Florida fields (Sarasota, Fort Myers, and others) that had briefly been stopped. Only Fort Myers, Southwest Florida International (RSW), is still carrying minor 15-to-29-minute departure delays from residual thunderstorms (flightcheck.live).

The noon issue's other forward watch also missed. It flagged LaGuardia and Newark as possible again at 2 PM. By 3:23 PM ET, JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia, and the DC airports are all on time, per the same FAA NASSTATUS feed (flightcheck.live). Newark is not in a terminal program; ADVZY 113 says the PHL TRACON "anticipates handling EWR with MIT [miles-in-trail] and holding throughout the evening" over a PHL Area C staffing trigger, and that the staffing trigger "should cause minimal impact" (FAA adv_spt). In other words, the demand-cutting and reroutes held without needing a ground stop.

The network reflects the break in the weather. FlightAware at 3:26 PM ET counts 165 US cancellations and 4,276 US delays today, compared with 559 cancellations and 7,699 delays on Wednesday (FlightAware). After two days of storm-wall ground stops and the American Airlines IT outage, Thursday is shaping up as a recovery day, with one stubborn exception.

Boston Logan: the one persistent disruption

Boston is the day's main lingering pain, and it has barely moved since noon. Logan remains under a ground delay program for low ceilings and low visibility, averaging 1 hour 50 minutes (about 110 minutes), with the FAA's BOS airport page, updated at 3:26 PM ET, showing airborne arrival delays of just 15 minutes or less (FAA BOS). The program runs through 12:59 AM ET, per ADVZY 113 (FAA adv_spt).

The cause matters: this is a low-ceiling and wind problem, not a thunderstorm problem, which is why it has persisted across two days while the convective stops elsewhere have cycled on and off. Boston's single-runway configuration for the day (RWY 15R/33L is limited through November 1 per the runway work list) keeps the arrival rate low, so even modest weather eats into capacity. If you are flying into or out of Boston tonight, expect the delay to be assigned at your origin rather than in the air, and check your carrier's Boston-specific status.

Denver is the next risk after 4 PM

With Florida cleared and the Northeast quiet, the afternoon risk rotates to the Plains. ADVZY 113 says "DEN terminal and enroute impacts anticipated later this afternoon," and lists a Denver ground stop or delay program as possible after 4 PM ET (2000Z) (FAA adv_spt). Denver is on time now, with the FAA's DEN page showing gate holds of 15 minutes or less at 3:26 PM ET (FAA DEN).

The weather backdrop is a Storm Prediction Center Day 1 Slight Risk over the central and northern Plains, with the Colorado Front Range in the afternoon convective zone (SPC). A Colorado outlet describes Thursday's storms as "fewer" than Wednesday's but still capable of strong to low-end severe winds and hail, with flood watches across southern Colorado from saturated ground (KKTV). The honest caveat: this week's convective watches have fizzled as often as they have fired, so a possible Denver program is not a guarantee. Newark also stays on the plan as a possible ground stop or delay program through 10 PM ET, though it is being managed tactically for now.

What is still running, and the staffing angle

San Francisco's fog ground delay program (about 40 minutes, construction and low ceilings) runs to 6:59 PM ET, and San Diego's volume program (about 31 minutes) runs to 1:59 AM ET, both routine (FAA, flightcheck.live). The staffing picture is light: L30 TRACON (Las Vegas) is flagged until 5 PM ET, and PHL Area C runs 7 to 9 PM ET, the latter being the trigger behind Newark's miles-in-trail management. No New York center staffing constraint is in play today, a contrast with Tuesday and Wednesday when ZNY staffing helped drive the JFK, LaGuardia, and Philadelphia ground delay programs. The FAA's next planning webinar was scheduled for 3:15 PM ET, so a sharper read on the Denver window may follow in the next advisory (FAA adv_spt).

Rebooking basics

The active waivers are still keyed to the July 27 to 29 Northeast storm, with rebook deadlines landing today or in the next few days, and none is a new Denver or Florida product. Delta's Mid-Atlantic waiver covers Allentown, Boston, Baltimore, Reagan, Dulles, and Philadelphia for July 28 to 29 travel, reissue by August 1 (Delta). JetBlue's New York metro waiver covers Islip, JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, and Westchester for July 27 to 29, rebook through August 1 (JetBlue). United's East Coast alert covers BWI, DCA, EWR, IAD, JFK, LGA, and PHL with rebooking into July 30 (United). American's broad Eastern US alert is current as of July 28 (American). If Denver fires later, watch for a carrier-specific Colorado waiver to post after the late-morning FAA planning call, and open the exact alert that matches your ticket rather than assuming the Northeast terms carry over.