Christmas Eve Travel Woes ~(The Whole Country).

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/nationalforecast/index.html?from=sixten_headline
For everyone staying at home, I wish you little snow to shovel, a full tummy and all the joys that Christmas may bring.

But this story is about and for those of you who may find yourselves traveling today...
~and especially by car....

Vaya con Dios.
Be safe and be prepared for anything.
You mean the world to me!

XOXO
Anne

_______


National Weather Forecast - weather.com

Tom Moore, Lead Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
Dec. 23, 2008 8:23 pm ET
Midwest | View Regional Video

A storm system will be moving up through the Great Lakes.

As it does, a mixed bag of precipitation will continue into Wednesday.

It appears that a swath of significant snow will fall from central Iowa northeast through southern Wisconsin to northern Michigan.

Most locations in those areas will see at least 6 inches of snow while parts of northern Michigan could see up to a foot.

A messy combination of snow, sleet and rain will continue through Tuesday morning across southern Michigan, northern Indiana, northern Illinois and northern Missouri.

As slightly colder air moves in behind the storm, mixed precipitation will likely change to snow possibly accumulating 1 to 3 inches before ending Tuesday.

Elsewhere, look for some rain and thunderstorms from the Ohio Valley to the lower Mississippi Valley with one to two inches of rain possible through Wednesday.

The weather will be mainly quiet on Christmas day with chilly, but not bitterly cold, temperatures.

Thursday night and Friday will feature another storm system with rain and mixed precipitation.
Northeast | View Regional Video

Snow will move rapidly across interior sections of the northeast overnight.

By Tuesday morning, snow will mix with or change to sleet and freezing rain over many locations.

The ice may linger into the late morning hours, but should change to all rain by early afternoon.

The most vulnerable areas will be across the Mohawk Valley, the upper Hudson Valley and the upper Connecticut Valley.

Much of northern New York and New England will see snow mixing with sleet or freezing rain.

Most other areas will see mainly rain from Wednesday into Wednesday night.

The mountains and northern Maine may hold on to all snow with 4 to 8 inches possible.

Low clouds accompanying the rain should cause delays at the airports from Boston to Washington, D.C. adding to the travel woes nationwide.

Christmas Day should be much quieter with most locations having a sunny, cool and blustery day.

A few snow showers are possible in western New York and northwest Pennsylvania primarily during the morning.
West | View Regional Video

A couple of weather systems will produce more wintry weather conditions across the Northwest on Wednesday.

The more potent system will sweep into northern California.

This system will feature heavy rain and mountain snow over California.

A few thunderstorms are possible along coastal sections during the afternoon and evening hours.

Low cloudiness associated with the rain could hamper air travel from San Francisco south to Los Angeles.

The rain in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas could produce some mudslides especially in the burn zones.

Snowfall in the mountains could measure one to two feet, especially in the Sierra-Nevada south of the Tahoe area.

Moisture from this storm spreads inland to Nevada, Utah, western Colorado and northern Arizona by early evening.

Rain should fall in the deserts with snow expected everywhere else.

Meanwhile low pressure, and an associated front, will slide down from the Gulf of Alaska to the Pacific Northwest where more snow is expected.

The snow should change to rain along the Oregon coast and in southwest Oregon during the afternoon.

In Portland and the Willamette Valley the snow may mix with or briefly change to rain during the mid to late afternoon, but should go back to all snow at night.

Portland needs slightly more than 1 inch to record its snowiest December on record.

The snow should linger into Christmas Day before tapering off Thursday evening in the Northwest.

Christmas Day should be a snowy and windy one across the Intermountain West as the California storm moves inland.
South | View Regional Video

Compared to the other regions of the country, the South will have the least problems, but the picture is not all rosy.

A line of showers and thunderstorms will be moving eastward across Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and southeast Texas.

A few storms may turn severe with small hail and gusty winds.

This activity will move into the western Carolinas, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle Wednesday night and early Thursday.

Christmas Day could feature a few showers from the coastal Carolinas to the Gulf Coast.

The rest of the region will be dry and mild.

Florida will be balmy temperatures well into the 70s and lower 80s Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

A more serious severe weather threat will exist from the southern plains to the Mississippi valley from late Friday to Saturday as a new storm gathers strength.