On what was already projected to be its busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving period, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport spent Sunday morning recovering after halting flights due to Saturday's winter storm.

MSP's runway was shut down Saturday night into Sunday for nearly two hours. The Sunday after Turkey Day is the busiest travel holiday of the year.

"The dinner was a treat!" said Anita Diosd.

Diosd was travelling back to the United Kingdom, which means back to reality.

"I'm on my way home for a few days before we head back out to Chicago next week," said Nicholas Bogannam, who was traveling back to Colorado.

But for the 81.8 million Americans who AAA projected to transport via car, airplane or even bus, train or cruise, Mother Nature brought other plans.

"There's people sleeping all over the ground, camping out," said Sophie Geernaert, who was traveling back to Nova Scotia, Canada.

The National Weather Service recorded 4.7 inches of snow at MSP, a snowstorm that hit the region causing many people to reroute.

Sophie Geernaert says it wasn't even possible to drive to her original flight out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, ultimately having to reroute the Twin Cities.

"I quickly got on, talked to American Airlines, canceling the second half of my flight to get back to Halifax, then flew out of her town on a different airline," said Geenaert.

AAA expected more than 5.8 million around its West North Central region, including Minnesota, to hit the road throughout Thanksgiving.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the storm caused 139 crashes, 161 vehicle spinouts/offroad incidents and four jackknifed semi trucks between Saturday night and 10 a.m. Sunday. There are no reported fatalities, but the state patrol says nine of the crashes involved injuries that aren't considered life-threatening.

"When you can't control it, you have to go with the flow," said Dan Granholm, who was traveling back to Maine. "Ride the wave, baby."

MSP saw 33 cancellations and over 200 delays on Saturday.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation says hundreds of snowplows are out and about, and they urge motorists to watch out for slick spots on ramps, bridges and overpasses.