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While snow and ice have stifled air and ground travel across the U.S. in recent weeks, the ongoing arctic blasts in the central and eastern regions, known as the Siberian Express, have been taking their toll on travel.
And the unrelenting temperatures will continue through the work week when another batch of frigid air arrives on Wednesday.
It remains to be seen how the continuous blasts of cold air will impact air travel. However, Winter Storm Quantum is currently snarling travel in North Texas and surrounding areas. According to FlightAware.com, more than 1,400 flights were canceled nationwide on Monday as of 11 a.m. ET, with nearly 1,100 of them coming at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
That figure accounts for more than half of the airport's scheduled flights for Monday.
Dallas Love Field has reported 113 cancellations for Monday as of this writing.
While flying into our out of Dallas will be extremely difficult, the Weather Channel's Mike Seidel provides a look at the dismal road conditions in Texas to start the week:
As the unusually cold air sticks around in Texas and places east through the week, any precipitation, including that from Winter Storm Quantum is sure to hamper ground and air travel.
According to Weather.com's Carolyn Williams, nearly two dozen people have died from hypothermia, including 11 people in Tennessee.
But those numbers could still climb as officials continue investigations into other cold-related deaths.
"This week ranks among the most intense arctic outbreaks so far in the 21st century for the eastern U.S., and it is certainly one of the most impressively cold air masses we've seen this late in the winter season, coming only a month before the spring equinox," said Weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen.
Travelers in the Midwest and Northeast should continue to exercise caution when it comes to spending time outside in the elements.
While spring is set to arrive sooner than later, the blasts of cold air will continue this week, impacting the central and eastern portions of the U.S. Weather.com's forecast notes that temperatures will be up to 30 degrees below average in some places on Monday, and that the cold is expected threaten some records in the Northeast on Tuesday.
Fortunately, spring is now less than one month away.
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