With Spring Break in the rear-view mirror, millions of North Texas travelers headed home last weekend, braving crowded airports, congested roads, and inclement weather.
Spring Break was expected to generate much activity this year. Between March 7 and 25 alone, the DFW International Airport estimated 4.6 million passengers would pass through its gates, a roughly 13% jump from last year. This was despite airfares being roughly 20% higher than spring break 2023, according to Daniel Armbruster, a spokesperson for AAA, CBS News Texas reported.
As for driving, gas prices have remained relatively flat. The national average for regular fuel currently sits at $3.467 per gallon, up slightly from $3.449 one year prior. In Texas, gasoline currently averages $3.068 per gallon, up from $3.039 during the same period last year.
Some travelers, like the Ramos family from Hurst, made the most of the recent break, as NBC 5 DFW reported. They watched the Texas Rangers play ball in Surprise, Arizona, before returning home to North Texas. With the road trip complete, the family checked off a major bucket list item.
Some travelers were just passing through North Texas on their way to and from other areas. Emory Aregon and his 10-year-old grandson E.J. passed through Dallas on Friday on their way back home to Las Vegas, arriving in the metroplex about the same time as the stormy weather.
“It was hectic and a lot of traffic, especially with the rain,” Aregon told CBS News. “It was a lot of rain delays heading this way, so we hit a lot of traffic. I couldn’t drive fast. It was about 35, 40 on the freeways.”
While Monday in the DFW metroplex saw the rain clear to a mostly sunny day, some cloud coverage is forecast to return Tuesday, with showers and thunderstorms possibly on Wednesday and Thursday. Not only that, hail could be on the horizon as well, according to a National Weather Service announcement.
“Thunderstorm potential will increase during the day Thursday as the atmosphere destabilizes, a few of which may become strong enough to produce small hail and frequent lightning,” read the NWS notice.
