Nearly 900 flights canceled, 500 delayed in US

Nearly 900 flights have been canceled across the U.S. and another 500 have been delayed due to the large storm system moving through the middle part of the country.

Flight-tracking service FlightAware showed that more than a third of the cancellations were at Chicago's two main airports. Another large chunk came from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport; several tornadoes touched down Saturday in the Dallas suburbs.

Other cities with an unusually large number of cancellations included Houston, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Missouri, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Lubbock, Texas.

A typical day sees about 150 cancellations and 4,000 delays.

Heavy rain and strong winds, like forecast for parts of Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas on Monday, are often more troubling for airlines than snowfall.

The Texas Department of Transportation says many roadways across West Texas and the Panhandle have been closed due to ice and blizzard conditions, with traffic coming to standstill where Interstate 10 splits into Interstate 20.

The department said early this morning Interstates 40 and 27 were closed and that travelers should expect long delays across the region.

Vito Randazzo, of Alpine, Calif., is driving across the country and was among those who got stuck on Interstate 10.

He said Monday morning that he'd been sitting on the icy interstate since 8 p.m. Sunday and that "everybody's just sleeping in their cars."

He also said he couldn't believe the "road was left in this condition" – snow-packed and icy – and that he had water, but not food.

National Weather Service officials say that while the snow has stopped across the area, temperatures are to remain near or below freezing.