US Christmas travel: Snow to coat Northeast, storm to disrupt travel across West
By Renee Duff for AccuWeather.com
Areas of rain and snow will cause tricky Christmas travel for some across the nation late this week.
A record-breaking 103 million Americans are expected to travel from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Snow may slick roads across parts of Northeast
A fast-moving storm will spread light snow and rain across part of the Northeast on Thursday.
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"Any precipitation in the Northeast will generally be along and north of Interstate 80," AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson said.
The greatest threat for a couple inches of snow to accumulate and cause slick roadways will be from upstate New York to Maine.
Spotty showers could reach part of the coast, mainly north of New York City.
"Ground and air travel along the East Coast look better on Friday with dry weather up and down the I-95 corridor," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
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Rain, snow to disrupt travel across West
One storm will move across Southern California and the Four Corners region with areas of rain on Thursday. Another area of rain and snow will push inland across the Pacific Northwest.
Motorists will need to be wary for the threat of ice at the onset of the storm across central and northern New Mexico, northeastern Arizona and southwestern Colorado.
A major storm will then take shape farther to the west on Friday.
Heavy rain and rapidly falling snow levels are in store from Oregon to California on Friday. The treacherous travel conditions will expand across the Four Corners region on Saturday.
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Difficult and dangerous travel is in store across the major passes of California, especially Friday night into Saturday.
Ice may glaze roads in central US
A storm moving across the Southwest on Thursday will emerge over the southern Plains with light rain and an icy mix by Friday.
Areas of freezing drizzle can develop late Thursday night into Friday morning from the Texas Panhandle to the central Plains. This includes areas from Amarillo, Texas, to Kansas City, Missouri.
Some of the wintry weather will reach the Midwest, including Chicago and Minneapolis, later in the day.
The precipitation will tend to be spotty in nature, but even a small amount of ice or snow can cause extremely treacherous roadway conditions. A more potent and far-reaching storm will follow on Christmas Day.
The threat for some wet and wintry weather will move into the Northeast by Christmas Eve.
