Are incoming flights to Phoenix Sky Harbor airport delayed due to low rain clouds? Please give me one extremely brief sentence per section.

1. Weather’s direct role: low ceilings triggered ground delays

Local reporting on Nov. 18 says Sky Harbor issued a ground‑delay advisory tied to rainstorms and “low ceilings,” warning travelers of roughly 40‑minute average delays, showing that low clouds and rain were an explicit, immediate operational factor that day ^[1].

2. The wider context: staffing and FAA capacity reductions dominated November disruptions

Multiple outlets report that throughout early to mid‑November Phoenix experienced widespread delays and cancellations because the FAA imposed phased flight reductions amid air‑traffic‑controller staffing shortages related to the government shutdown, which created capacity limits and mandated ground delays separate from weather ^{[2] [3] [4]}.

3. Numbers: rain‑related advisory vs. month‑long tallies

On Nov. 18 the airport reported “more than 90” delays tied to rain and a ground‑delay advisory averaging ~40 minutes ^[1], while other days in November saw far larger totals—dozens to hundreds of delays and tens to hundreds of cancellations—attributed to FAA capacity actions and staffing triggers (examples: 44 delays/42 cancellations on Nov. 12; 106 delays/56 cancellations on Nov. 13; about 500 impacted flights reported Nov. 10) ^{[2] [3] [5]}.

4. How weather and staffing interact operationally

A localized weather problem such as low ceilings reduces runway throughput; when that occurs during a period of limited controller capacity from staffing triggers or FAA caps, the airport’s ability to absorb disruptions is weaker and delays/cancellations compound—sources describe both contemporaneous rain advisories and the separate FAA capacity restrictions that have been in effect ^{[1] [4]}.

5. Airline and passenger impact: what travelers experienced

Travelers on Nov. 18 saw multiple carriers affected—Southwest, Delta, United, American and others—with the airport reporting more than 90 delays tied to the rain advisory, while earlier in the month passengers faced longer, systemic disruptions (average delays of hours and large cancellation totals) linked to controller staffing and FAA directives ^{[1] [6] [7]}.

6. Conflicting emphases in reporting: weather vs. staffing narratives

Local Nov. 18 coverage foregrounds rain and low ceilings as the proximate cause of the day’s delays ^[1], whereas many earlier pieces frame the dominant story of November as FAA‑ordered reductions and controller shortages driving the larger pattern of disruptions ^{[2] [3] [4]}; both narratives appear in reporting and are not mutually exclusive ^{[1] [4]}.

7. Practical takeaway for travelers right now

If you’re flying into Phoenix during rainstorms and low ceilings expect ground delays (the airport warned ~40 minutes on Nov. 18), and also check airlines for cascading cancellations because ongoing FAA capacity limits and staffing shortfalls have caused larger, persistent disruptions this month ^{[1] [3]}.

Limitations and unmentioned items: available sources do not mention other technical failures, airline‑specific operational problems beyond those named, or real‑time radar/ATC logs; they focus on the rain/low‑ceiling advisory for Nov. 18 and on FAA/staffing causes for the broader November disruptions (not found in current reporting).