Thanksgiving travel became even more hectic than usual on Sunday as a massive winter storm complicated transportation.
The storm impacted states across the Midwest — including Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri — according to Yahoo!
On Monday, FlightAware reported that 7,609 flights were delayed and 1,593 flights were cancelled.
Winter storm warnings remained in effect in parts of the Chicago area on Monday morning, according to ABC7. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was experiencing delays lasting over three hours, AccuWeather said.
Parts of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois will receive multiple inches of snow on Monday, and I-80, I-196 and I-94 are expected to operate under blizzard conditions, AccuWeather reported.
“Hazardous travel can be expected through this busy holiday travel day from the Central Plains into the Great Lakes,” the National Weather Service tweeted on Sunday. “Areas impacted include Kansas City metro area today, and Chicago Metro area this evening and tonight. Heavy snow up to 18 inches and blizzard conditions may occur.”
On Sunday, 18,850 flights were delayed and 1,879 flights were canceled, FlightAware reported. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport had the most cancellations of any airport, with 400 outgoing and 409 incoming flights called off.
Car accidents were reported on Interstate 80 in Nebraska. In Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Illinois, some schools canceled Monday classes.
In the Chicago area, 304,000 homes and businesses lost their power as a result of the storm, CBS Chicago reported.
Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer declared a State of Disaster Emergency.
“We urge you to change your travel plans and stay off the roads,” the Kansas Division of Emergency Management tweeted. “If you have to travel make sure you have a full tank of gas when you leave. There are power outages along some major highways with an extended line of no available gas due to the outages.”
The storm is expected to affect the Great Lakes area and the Northeast next, CNN reported.
“The winter storm producing blizzard conditions in portions of the Midwest this evening, will shift northeast spreading heavy snow across the Great Lakes into New England through the first half of this week,” the National Weather Service tweeted.