( CNN ) -- Wicked wintry weather that pummeled the West Coast is now barreling across the country , threatening to wreck millions of holiday travel plans just before Thanksgiving . Scores of car crashes and 12 fatalities are blamed on the storm . Nearly 200 flights out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport were canceled Monday , in addition to the nearly 300 canceled Sunday . Parts of Lubbock , known for its warmth and flatness , turned into a snowboarding park as several inches of snow covered the western Texas city . Sleet and freezing rain is possible beginning Tuesday from the southern Appalachians to parts of northern New England . And by midweek , the storm will start zeroing in on the Northeast , the National Weather Service said . And that could spell more travel nightmares . NOAA : Expect a dry winter in parts of Southeast , Southwest . How cold is cold ? An Arctic air mass will probably keep temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below normal along the East Coast through Thursday . But even if the system fails to deliver heavy snow , fierce winds could still hamper air travel , forecasters said . Airlines flying in and out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport `` pre-canceled about 300 departures to reduce the number of stranded travelers '' Sunday in anticipation of the harsh weather , the airport 's official Twitter account said . And 10 % of flights at Oklahoma City 's Will Rogers World Airport were also canceled because of the weather Sunday . Then there 's the ice . CNN meteorologist Chad Myers called it `` probably the biggest problem for this storm . '' Massive rainfall , too . The storm appeared to stall after it came over the Rocky Mountains , Myers said , but it is expected to pick up moisture from the Gulf and drop heavy rain as it runs up the East Coast . Heavy rain is expected to fall from Georgia on Monday night and over the Carolinas , with some sleet and snow mixed in for northern parts of that swath . The heaviest rain is expected across parts of Mississippi , Alabama , Georgia , Florida and South Carolina . By Tuesday , the rain will reach the mid-Atlantic states and parts of the Northeast . And that could turn into freezing rain in the southern and central Appalachians . Deadly road conditions . Five people have died in weather-related crashes in Texas , the Texas Highway Patrol said Monday . Sgt . Chris Ray said half of his deputies handled 71 accidents over the weekend , and that number will rise when the other deputies report accident totals . The central Texas Panhandle seemed to be hardest hit , he said . Three of those killed in Texas were in a pileup on icy Interstate 40 in northwest Texas late Friday , Ray said . One of them was a man who got out of his car to help , and got struck . And at least 20 people were hospitalized from collisions within three miles of the fatal pileup , the Oldham County Sheriff 's office said . Four people have died in Oklahoma since Friday , Betsy Randolph of the state 's Department of Public Safety said . In each case , the driver was going too fast for conditions , she said . Randolph said only one of those killed was wearing a seat belt . Two people died in New Mexico in dangerous road conditions . A 4-year-old girl who was not properly restrained was killed Friday when the car she was riding in slid off icy U.S. Highway 70 , the state 's Department of Public Safety said . On Saturday , a woman in her 50s died when the pickup that she was riding in rear-ended a semi-truck in heavy traffic near Gallup , New Mexico , state police said . In Arkansas , authorities investigated 18 crashes in a two-mile section of Interstate 540 Monday morning , according to Lance King , troop commander for state police . The largest was a three-car pileup . Three people were transported from the scene , and there were no fatalities , he said . In Yuba County , California , a 52-year-old died when a tree fell on top of a vehicle Thursday , the county sheriff 's office said . When will this storm end ? By Thanksgiving Day , the storm will be giving the Northeast a layer of snow . But much of the country will enjoy calm Thanksgiving weather -- even if it 's a little more frigid than usual . Fewer people traveling for Thanksgiving . CNN 's Joe Sutton , Indra Petersons , Judson Jones , Adam Shivers and Janet DiGiacomo contributed to this report .
A dozen deaths are blamed on the weather across several states . Nearly 100 flights canceled flights at Dallas - Fort Worth airport . Sleet and heavy rain will cover parts of the southern states and Rockies . The storm will make a turn toward the northeast this week .