In short: drivers commonly report that when a station closes for weather, blocks that start while the doors are shut are cancelled, and that they're paid for them; Amazon and station leadership make those calls. The tracker estimates which start times fall in that window and when the doors should reopen. This guide explains those estimates, what to do if you're already in line, which records to keep, and why the Flex app always has the final word. It describes how the tracker reads closures and what drivers commonly report. It is not Amazon's policy.
Read this first
The Flex Weather Tracker is an independent, unofficial tool and is not affiliated with Amazon. It reads public weather information; it can't see the Flex app, your block or the station's decisions. Amazon and station leadership decide when a station closes, which blocks are cancelled and how they're paid. Those policies can change without notice, and nothing in this guide is a guarantee. When the tracker and the Flex app disagree, go by the app.
The cancel window
When the tracker sends a closure alert, it includes a span of block start times that the closure has likely cancelled. The span runs from about 3 minutes after the closure began until about 5 minutes before the doors are expected to reopen. A block that starts inside it is the kind drivers commonly see cancelled. A block that starts in the first few minutes of a closure, or in the last few minutes before the doors open, sits at the edge and may well go ahead as normal.
Here's how it plays out. Say lightning closes a station at 2:00 PM, and the tracker expects the doors to open at about 3:12 PM.
- The cancel window runs from 2:03 PM to 3:07 PM.
- A 2:30 PM block falls inside it. It's likely cancelled; confirm in the app.
- A 3:15 PM block falls outside it. Plan to be there on time.
- A 3:00 PM block is inside, but near the edge. Keep checking.
The window can also stretch. If another strike lands within 6 miles, the tracker's expected reopening moves later and the end of the window moves with it, so a block that looked safe at 2:15 can end up inside the window by 2:45. Check again shortly before you leave.
The alert spells it out in plain words, for example: "If your block started during the closure, between 2:03 and 3:07 PM, it has been cancelled, and you'll get an email within the next 24 hours confirming it, with pay." That wording is direct so it's quick to act on, but it is still the tracker's estimate from weather data, not a message from Amazon.
Pay and the confirmation email
Drivers commonly report that a block cancelled because the station closed for weather is paid, and that an email confirming the cancellation arrives within about 24 hours. Treat that as what typically happens, not a promise. Pay rules are Amazon's, they can change, and individual cases vary.
If a day passes without the email, or the block shows up in your history in a way that doesn't look right, contact Driver Support through the Help section of the Flex app with the block's date, start time and station. The records described below make that conversation much easier.
When the doors reopen
For a lightning closure, the tracker's all-clear is 30 minutes after the last ground strike within 6 miles, and every new strike in that circle pushes it back. For other kinds of closure, the tracker goes by the end time of the weather report behind it, which is often renewed every 15 to 30 minutes while the weather lasts. Station leadership decides when the doors actually open.
Drivers commonly report that the doors don't open at that exact minute, because an associate has to get to them. The tracker estimates that the doors open a minute and a half to three minutes after the posted end, and its alerts tell you to allow about 4 minutes more for an associate to open up. If your block starts just after the reopening, that's the time to aim for.
Closures don't always end on schedule. The tracker sends a "pushed back" notice when the expected doors time moves later by more than ten minutes, and a "reopened" notice once the doors have been open for a little while, so you're not left guessing.
If you're already in line
- Stay in your car. If the closure is for lightning, the lot is not a safe place to stand. Windows up, and wait. The lightning safety guide explains why.
- Watch the Flex app. Messages about your block, or a change in its status, come through the app, not the tracker.
- Write down the time. Note when you arrived and when the doors closed, or take a screenshot that shows the time.
- Don't leave on the tracker's word alone. If the app still shows your block as active, ask station staff or Driver Support before you go. Leaving a block that hasn't actually been cancelled could count against you.
- Be ready for the reopening. If your block falls after the cancel window, the doors time on the tracker and the "allow about 4 minutes" note tell you roughly when the line will start moving again.
If you've already picked up your packages and are out on the route when a storm hits, the closure back at the station is a separate matter; your priority is getting out of the storm. Shelter in your car until it passes, note the time, and contact Driver Support if it puts you behind.
Keep a record
If anything about a closure is questioned later, it will come down to times: when your block started, when the station closed, and when you were there. A few screenshots settle that.
- Your block in the Flex app: the date, start time and station, before and after it changes.
- The station on the tracker: its status, the reason for the closure, the estimated reopening time and the cancel window. Your phone's status bar puts the time on every screenshot.
- Where you were: a screenshot of your location, or a photo from your car that shows you at the station, if it's safe to take.
- The confirmation email, when it arrives. Keep it until the pay has come through.
- A short note of anything station staff told you, with the time.
The tracker also keeps a closure record for every station, with each closure's start, end and cause, so you can look back at a closure after the fact. See the closure history.
The Flex app is the final word
The tracker is an early warning built from weather data, and it can be wrong in both directions. A station can stay open through reports that look like a closure, close for something no weather report shows, or reopen later than the estimate. Data can also arrive late or have gaps. Use the tracker to know what's coming and the Flex app to know what has actually happened to your block. Don't skip a block because the tracker shows red, and don't assume a block is safe because it shows green.
If a closure causes trouble later
If a cancelled block is marked against you, or a closure leads to a bigger problem with your account, start with Driver Support through the Help section of the Flex app. Give the block's date, start time and station, say what happened, and follow up in writing so there's a record.
Drivers on the tracker's paid Ultra plan also have two helpers for this: an appeal helper that walks through contacting Driver Support and writes a follow-up email about the block, and a termination helper that lays out the ways to ask for a deactivated account back, with a letter helper. They save time, but everything they do, you can also do yourself.
Related: How weather closures work at delivery stations · Lightning safety for delivery drivers · How the tracker decides a station may be closed · All stations · Closure history · Warning accuracy · All guides