Travelers at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport try to beat the snowstorm

Pat Schleicher wasn't taking any chances during the winter storm's "lull" Wednesday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

He arrived more than six hours before his scheduled 4:15 p.m. departure on a Sun Country flight to Las Vegas, and his home in Nevada.

"It's OK. I have some Gatorade," he said, with a shrug.

Schleicher was one of a half-dozen passengers lingering in Terminal 2 around noon Wednesday. The airport's smaller terminal was desolate after the snowstorm's one-two punch led to an extraordinary number of MSP flights being canceled — 425 by late afternoon, according to the aviation website FlightAware.

Those fortunate travelers who were able to depart and arrive at MSP during the narrow window between storms Wednesday were able to do so through dumb luck, perhaps a bit of cunning or just plain sensible planning.

It helped that MSP's dominant carrier, Delta Air Lines, waived the difference in fares if ticket holders rebooked their flights before Feb. 27. Or, MSP Delta customers could cancel their flight and apply the value of their ticket toward the purchase of a new one over the next year.

Likewise, MSP's No. 2 carrier, Sun Country, waived rebooking fees for most flights affected by weather. Restrictions apply, of course.

But video screens throughout both terminals told the stark story: There were many more cancellations than arrivals or departures. As a result, the airport felt cavernous in places, as gate agents chatted among themselves, attendants squired empty wheelchairs about and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers whisked people through security in less than five minutes.

There were no lines at checkpoints, restaurants or kiosks — even as some Minnesotans returned from what remained of Presidents' Day weekend, a minor winter holiday at MSP before spring break begins in late March. The snowy onslaught comes as MSP's passenger numbers continue to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated air travel.

Last year, the number of passengers at MSP surged by 24% to 31 million, about 80% of pre-pandemic levels.

"It's going to be a challenging few days, but we are as prepared as we can be," said Brian Ryks, CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which operates MSP, during a commission meeting Tuesday.

"I kind of expected the airport to be a little crazier," said Rachel Kisor, of Detroit Lakes, Minn., who was traveling to Phoenix on a 2:40 p.m. flight with her family Wednesday. "So far our flight hasn't been canceled, fingers crossed."

The travel sweet spot was morning or early afternoon travel — before snow resumed in the Twin Cities at about 2 p.m.

Angie Bates knew she would have to skillfully navigate the window between two snowstorms to catch a flight home to Alaska with her mom, Denise, and her newly adopted Papillon puppy, ChiChi.

Bates tracked the storm earlier this week, and said, "I was really, really concerned."

So they traveled to the airport during a lull in the storm, dropped off their rental car early, and planned on staying in a hotel before a flight home to Fairbanks.

Jack Courington and his friend Truman Brown, both of Eagan, considered themselves supremely lucky as they checked in early Wednesday afternoon for their Delta flight to Denver for a ski trip.

"At this point we're just waiting to see whether we can get to Colorado," Courington said. "Every flight except ours is canceled, plus Denver is experiencing some weather."

Both seemed super chill about the impending winter apocalypse.

"I'm not really freaking out," Courington said. "Delta has been pretty good about letting you change your ticket."

It was a stroke of luck and quick thinking that got Roseville resident Nicki Budnicki back to the Twin Cities on Wednesday during the lull. She was looking at her phone when she was notified that her flight from Savannah, Ga., was canceled, so she immediately booked an earlier flight.

"I was super lucky," she said. "After I rescheduled, within 20 minutes my second flight was totally booked."

She still had a three-hour layover in Philadelphia and had to get up at 3 a.m. to make her rebooked flight. But, given the circumstances, she said she didn't mind.