Christmas Travel Forecast: Potential Problem Areas

C​hristmas or Hanukkah travel is ahead for millions, and the weather may be a factor. For some, snow, rain, even a little ice could disrupt your plans.

Here’s what you need to know in order to make the safest trip possible.

Monday

• L​ight snow and freezing rain will spread from the upper Midwest and Great Lakes today to the Northeast tonight.
• S​now accumulations should be generally on the order of 1 to 4 inches from central Wisconsin to Lower Michigan to parts of western Pennsylvania, western, central and upstate New York and northern New England, leading to some slippery travel.
• S​ome light accumulations of ice are possible early today from southern Wisconsin to southern Lower Michigan, until temperatures warm above freezing. This could make untreated roads, particularly bridges and overpasses, slippery, for a time.
• R​ain will increase from Northern California into western Oregon and western Washington through the evening. The change to snow in the Cascades will happen at higher elevations than usual Monday night. Some lingering light snow is expected in the northern Rockies.
• Potential airport weather delays: San Francisco (afternoon, evening); Chicago and Detroit

C​hristmas Eve And Christmas Day

• Northeast: Some light snow is expected to linger into Christmas Eve Tuesday. Most accumulations will be generally a couple inches or less, possibly as far south as the New York City Tri-state and parts of southern New England. Some patchy light freezing rain or drizzle is possible Christmas Eve morning in parts of the mid-Atlantic states from northern Virginia to southeast Pennsyvania and southern New Jersey, before temperatures warm above freezing during the day.
• S​outh: Areas of rain showers and some t-storms are expected Christmas Eve from eastern Texas to Missouri, then on Christmas Day in the lower Mississippi Valley. We can’t rule out an isolated severe t-storm, but locally heavy downpours and wet roads appear to be the main travel concern, there.
• West: Rain and mountain snow will spread through much of California, Oregon and Washington on Christmas Eve, though any precip amounts in Southern California will remain light. Another windy, wet storm will move into the Pacific Northwest and far northwest California Christmas afternoon and Christmas night. Some local flash flooding is possible with each storm, particularly in far northwest California and southwest Oregon.
• Potential airport weather delays: San Francisco and L.A., Dallas, Houston, Washington, D.C., Philly, NYC and Boston (Christmas Eve); Seattle and New Orleans (Christmas Day)

(​MORE: 2024 White Christmas Forecast)

Thursday And Friday

• S​outh, Midwest: Rain and thunderstorms will spread from the central and Southern Plains Thursday north into the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes Friday. A few severe t-storms are possible in the South, but locally heavy downpours and wet roads appear to be the main travel concern in these areas.
• West: Lingering snow Thursday is expected in the northern Rockies southward to Utah’s Wasatch. Late Thursday night into early Friday, another windy, wet Pacific storm will plow into Washington, Oregon and Northern California with rain and mountain snow. Yet another system will arrive in the Northwest Friday.
• Potential airport weather delays: Dallas, Houston and Seattle (Thursday); Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle (Friday)

Jonathan Belles has been a graphics meteorologist and writer for weather.com for 8 years and also assists in the production of videos for The Weather Channel en español. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He’s a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.