And even with delays likely expected, Ellzey said it would take extreme weather to shut down a major U.S. airport like DFW: A blizzard with high winds, a major power outage or "zero-zero" visibility conditions, meaning fog is too heavy for pilots to see above or in front of their aircraft.

Dozens of flights scheduled into and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport have already been canceled for Thursday, when a winter storm is expected to impact North Texas.

Dallas-Fort Worth has had memorable winter weather events the last 15 years. Here's what has happened between near-blizzard conditions Christmas Eve 2009