Ground Stop Issued As ATL Airport Faces Weather-Related Delays

ATLANTA, GA — A ground stop at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was issued Thursday due to thunderstorms, according to a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration.

It is unknown how long the ground stop is set to last.

The travel alert came amid a tornado watch triggered by severe thunderstorms pouring over Georgia. The National Weather Service placed 59 counties under the tornado watch until 1 p.m. Thursday.

According to the flight tracking site Flight Aware, all flights coming into Hartsfield are being held where they are until 12:45 p.m. Thursday.

Departures are delayed an average of at least 1 hour and 31 minutes, Flight Aware said.

Delays for the arrival of airborne aircraft are an average of at least 1 hour and 22 minutes, Flight Aware said.

RELATED: Tornado Watch Issued For 59 GA Counties Amid Severe Storms

As the storms travel through Georgia, anticipated hazards are large hail, frequent lightning strikes, locally heavy rain and damaging wind gusts. Isolated tornadoes are possible.

Then, another round of storms are forecast to enter the area late Thursday night through Friday morning before targeting central Georgia through Friday afternoon.

The weekend is expected to be clear before yet a rainy start to next week as a frontal system arrives Monday and Tuesday, weather officials said.