Flights at DFW Airport, Dallas Love Field are being called off ahead of approaching storms

American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have canceled nearly 440 flights in and out of DFW International Airport and Dallas Love field with strong thunderstorms and hail forecasted in North Texas later Thursday.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines, which counts DFW Airport as its biggest base, has canceled nearly 340 flights in and out of North Texas, mostly after 5 p.m. It’s just a fraction of the 1700 flights scheduled for DFW International Airport, according to Flightaware.com.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has cut almost 100 flights coming in and out of Dallas Love Field, next to the company’s headquarters.

“We are making some proactive afternoon/evening schedule modifications at DAL today due to an active weather pattern containing rain and thunderstorms,” Southwest spokesman Brian Parrish said.

The FAA issued a ground stop for flights taking off for DFW Airport at 4:09 p.m. that was expected to last until 5:45 p.m. Another ground stop was forecasted for Dallas Love Field. The agency also halted flights leaving DFW just before 5 p.m.

Meteorologists expect severe thunderstorms Thursday that could produce large hail, damaging winds along with a small chance of tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service. The main window of concern is between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Southwest also has issued a weather waiver for passengers that allows them to shift their travel plans to a different day over the next two weeks.

American Airlines has also issued a travel alert for passengers flying through DFW Airport Thursday.

Most of American Airlines’ cancellations are on its partner regional carriers, such as Skywest, Mesa and Envoy, which connect hubs such as DFW to smaller cities such as El Paso.

Thursday is a busy day at DFW and for airlines in North Texas with spring break starting at some school districts.