Flights to and from North Texas canceled due to approaching storm

The storm system that brought heavy snowfall to parts of California moved east on Thursday, threatening severe weather across the southern plains and causing the cancellation of hundreds of flights to and from North Texas.

FlightAware.com reports that Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field have recorded more than 400 flight cancellations to or from airports as the storm approaches the region.

Several school districts, including Dallas and Fort Worth, have canceled extracurricular activities and activities due to the forecast.

“This is the same system that hit California and is now in New Mexico and will cross Texas and then Arkansas,” said Rich Thompson, lead forecaster for the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

He said strong winds and hail were the most serious threat.

“Really strong tornadoes seem unlikely,” Thompson said. “We think the biggest threat will be a very large hailstorm, the size of a baseball.”

Meteorologists say the storm produced “once-in-a-generation” snow in California and Oregon, where up to 7 feet is accumulating in places.

However, the snowfall is believed to have helped reduce and in some areas eliminate the California drought.