Pre-Thanksgiving Storms Cancel Flights At Denver Intl Airport

DENVER, CO — Millions of Thanksgiving travelers are already hung up at airports after their flights were canceled Tuesday as the first of two storm systems continued to move through the Rockies, Great Plains and Great Lakes. Denver International Airport canceled more than 450 flights Tuesday morning, and hundreds of travelers were stranded at the airport overnight.

"Please check your flight status with your airline before coming to the airport," Denver International Airport said in a tweet. "Peña Blvd. is snow packed so give yourself extra time to travel and take it slow!"

The Flightaware.com Misery Map shows what to expect across the country.

The storms will potentially affect travel through the weekend, setting up to the potential for travel headaches for Americans on their way home. A record 4.5 million of Americans planned to fly to their Thanksgiving destinations, according to the AAA travel group.

A snow storm is making its way across Colorado, and will hit the hardest Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. While better travel conditions are expected on Wednesday, another storm is expected to hit Thursday and Friday.

The National Weather Service called the second storm “historic” and “unprecedented” for southwest Oregon and northwest California, where it will bring areas of damaging winds, heavy mountain snow and heavy rain to the West Coast Tuesday through Thanksgiving Day.

Parts of Colorado had received more than a foot of snow by daybreak Tuesday, with more expected to fall in blizzard conditions. Some areas could see near-record snowfall. The National Weather Service in Boulder, Colorado, “strongly discouraged” travel Tuesday. The storm had already closed several roads, including Interstates 76 and 70 across the Plains.

The current storm has prompted winter storm watches and warnings in effect through Wednesday across a large swatch of the central United States, from Colorado to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to as far south as Oklahoma and Iowa. Heavy winds are expected to cause more delays across large swaths of the country.

If the storm intensifies, it could bring heavy, windswept snow to the north and west of the affected area and severe thunderstorms to the south and east, the National Weather Service warns.

Conditions are ripe for a second storm to set up Thanksgiving Weekend.

For Thanksgiving week in Colorado, the National Weather Service said the clouds are expected to part Wednesday, but another storm could hit northern Colorado on Thanksgiving day. Snow showers are expected to continue through Friday night and possibly into Saturday morning.

If you're planning a Thanksgiving trip, visit COtrip to check the conditions of your route.