Thunderstorms delay flights at Miami airport, suspend music festival and disrupt tennis tournament

MIAMI (AP) — Severe thunderstorms in South Florida delayed departures at the Miami International Airport during the busy spring break season, suspended a popular electronic music festival and disrupted matches at a high-profile tennis tournament.

The thunderstorms that swept into South Florida Friday night delayed departures at Miami International for hours Saturday, according to the National Airspace System Status. The airport was experiencing record spring break traffic this season, averaging 170,000 passengers each day this month.

“Inclement weather may impact operations on March 23,” the airport tweeted. “If you’re traveling, please get in touch with your airline for the latest flight updates.”

At the Ultra Music Festival in a downtown Miami park, where 55,000 attendees were expected over three days, organizers shut down the music early Friday night because of lightning and strong winds.

“For your safety, Ultra Friday is temporarily shutting down,” organizers posted on social media Friday night. “Please calmly leave the park now.”

Rain and strong winds Friday also delayed the start of the day’s tennis games at the Miami Open by six hours and then washed out the rest of the scheduled play early in the evening. The weather disrupted the match schedule, forcing some of Friday’s postponed games to be played Saturday.