(Bloomberg) -- An arctic blast of severe cold and snow is creating hazardous conditions across the Great Lakes region over the next two days, according to the US Weather Prediction Center, potentially disrupting the plans of millions traveling the roads and skies.
The cold front, which has dumped several feet of snow and plunged temperatures in some areas below -30F (-34C), with the wind chill, has battered the region during one of the busiest US travel weekends. Snowfall hit 46 inches in Barnes Corner and Copenhagen, New York by Saturday morning.
A record-setting 80 million people were forecast to travel between Nov. 26 and Dec. 2, mostly by car and plane, according to the auto association AAA.
Winter storm warnings were in effect for parts of the region, and severe weather is expected to continue through Monday, with snow then returning later in the week, the center said.
Newark Liberty International Airport reported 99 delayed flights and five cancellations on Sunday, according to data from FlightAware, while at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, more than a quarter of all flights were on the “Misery Map” of cancellations and delays.
More than 2.7 million people throughout the US went through airport checkpoints on Thanksgiving eve, a 40% increase from the year before, the Transportation Security Administration reported.
(Updates to add snowfall measure in second paragraph.)
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