More than 2,500 flights delayed amid high winds at Denver International Airport

A ground delay at Denver International Airport caused ripple effects across the country Wednesday.

Nationwide, flights to Denver were delayed 40 minutes on average due to wind as of 7:45 p.m. ET Wednesday, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight status in real time. Flights out of Denver were delayed an average of 57 minutes and growing.

FlightAware reported more than 1,100 delays on Southwest, 532 delays on SkyWest, 501 delays on United and more than 300 delays each on Delta and American systemwide. Utah-based SkyWest also had 141 cancellations. Not all cancellations or delays were tied to the wind in Denver.

The ground delay was lifted by Wednesday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's website.

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Denver International urged travelers, on social media, to check flight status with their airline as they expected high winds and delays throughout the day.

Regardless of the reason, the Department of Transportation requires airlines to offer a refund when they cancel a flight or experience a "significant delay." The definition of significant delays varies, however, from airline to airline.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Denver airport flight delays cause ripple effects around the US