IAH and HOU: Storms Trigger Ground Stops at Both Houston Airports

HOUSTON, Texas — November 4, 2026 — Heavy rain and thunderstorms led the FAA to halt departures to both Houston airports, George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) and William P. Hobby (HOU), on Tuesday afternoon, November 3. The ground stops were lifted by mid-afternoon, but delays at IAH continued.

What happened

Ground stops: the FAA ordered ground stops at IAH and HOU on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 3. Start time: TBA. Both had been lifted by the 2:25 p.m. CT update.
After the stops: IAH still showed delays of an hour or more after the ground stop ended.
Airlines: no airline was named in the report. IAH is a United hub and HOU is a major Southwest base.
Runway work at HOU: the FAA’s daily operations plan lists two Hobby runways closed: 04/22 until December 31, and 13L/31R until January 9, 2027.

Airport	Event	Dates
IAH	Weather ground stop; delays of an hour or more afterwards	November 3; lifted by 2:25 p.m. CT
HOU	Weather ground stop	November 3; lifted by 2:25 p.m. CT
HOU	Runway 04/22 closed	Until December 31, 2026
HOU	Runway 13L/31R closed	Until January 9, 2027

What it means for travelers

Expect fuller evening flights after storm days. Passengers who misconnected at IAH on Tuesday are rebooked first, which squeezes seats on later flights.
Leave room in Houston connections. Afternoon thunderstorms can stop departures at short notice; avoid the last flight of the day if you need to get through.
HOU runway work. With two runways listed as closed into the new year, check the FAA status for Hobby on bad-weather days before you head to the airport.
Carry on so a misconnect doesn’t separate you from your bag.

Sources

Houston Chronicle via Yahoo News — “Ground stops end at Bush, Hobby airports after heavy rain rolls through Houston area” (November 3, 2026) — yahoo.com
FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center — Operations Plan (issued November 4, 2026) — fly.faa.gov