More than 1,200 flights have been canceled across the U.S. as extreme cold and record-breaking temperatures affect two-thirds of the country and powerful snowstorms pound the Midwest.

Air traffic across the country has been affected by the frigid weather with 1,200 flights canceled on Tuesday, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

There were also 1,500 flight delays as a result of the weather.

Delta Air Lines and United both said they would waive flight change fees for passengers affected by the winter weather in Chicago, Detroit and areas of the Upper Midwest.

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Air traffic across the country has been affected by the frigid weather with 1,200 flights canceled by Tuesday morning. Pictured above is Chicago's O'Hare airport blanketed in snow on Monday

More than 100 flights were canceled at Atlanta's airport alone as city leaders feared ice could slicken roads and freeways as thousands of fans began pouring into town for Super Bowl 53.

Delta announced Monday night that it was 'proactively' canceling flights ahead of a winter weather advisory that went into effect at 3am on Tuesday for Atlanta - a city known for grinding to a halt in relatively light snowfalls.

Two-thirds of the country will be a frozen ice box Tuesday, as the so-called polar vortex of frigid arctic air spins across the Midwest, clips the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley and pushes on into New England.

The sub-zero cold and bitter winds will stick around for several days, possibly bringing dozens of record lows with a life-threatening freeze before dissipating by the weekend.

The polar vortex is a mass of freezing air that normally spins around the North Pole, but has slipped southward and swirled into the United States, forecasters said.

The hardest-hit area will be the Midwest, where wind chill could bring temperatures as low as negative 50 in the Chicago area by Tuesday evening.

One-to-two feet of snow was forecast in Wisconsin and six inches in Illinois.

Delta Air Lines and United both said they would waive flight change fees for passengers affected by the winter weather in Chicago (above), Detroit and areas of the Upper Midwest

Snow plows worked around the clock on Monday to remove snow from the tarmac at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport

Even Alabama and Mississippi could see snow.

Blizzard conditions were predicted across parts of the western Ohio Valley and snow was expected through Wednesday from the Great Lakes region into New England.

States of emergency have been declared from Wisconsin and Michigan, down to Alabama and Mississippi.

Parts of north and central Georgia are expecting about 2 inches of snow or more in the coming days, along with freezing rain and ice-slicked highways.

Minneapolis Public Schools officials have canceled classes through Wednesday, when the region is expected to experience frigidly low temperatures not seen in a quarter century.

Hundreds of Michigan schools were closed Tuesday, including in Detroit, while Chicago Public Schools canceled Wednesday classes because of the anticipated cold snap.

'You're talking about frostbite and hypothermia issues very quickly, like in a matter of minutes, maybe seconds,' said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.