American's holiday road trips hampered by artic blast up north
MIAMI - Getting home for the holidays could be a headache for the 113 million people that AAA estimates will be traveling over the next few days, most by car before the artic blast across the midwest and east coast reaches its peak.
The major winter storm is bringing record-breaking temperature drops and harsh snowy conditions that have resulted in highway closures and flight cancellations.
The storm is touching nearly every state, with more than 100 million people across the US currently under winter weather and wind chill alerts, which the National Weather Service is calling a "once in a generation type event."
More than 1,240 flights have been canceled across the US, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, snarling air travel amid the busy holiday season.
And conditions on the road weren't any better in many areas. Thursday is expected to be the most difficult day for travel as the storm pummels the Midwest with heavy snow and strong winds.
Twenty eight percent of American travelers are planning a one-day trip, compared to 14 percent last year, according to Morning Consult.
AAA estimates that 5.8 million Floridians will to take a year-end holiday road trip.