Christmas Travel Forecast: Rain and Snow Will Likely Cause Delays

Linda Lam
Published: December 26,2015
The weather may continue to bring travel concerns to those returning home from their Christmas destinations. Rain, snow, ice and severe thunderstorms may cause both delays on the roads and in the air including both coasts of the U.S. over the next few days.
The other big weather story for the weekend after Christmas are the above-average temperatures in portions of the southern and eastern U.S. Record warm temperatures are possible for both highs and lows through Sunday.
(MORE: After Warmest Christmas in Living Memory for Many, Warmth Continues in East, South)
Scroll below for a day-by-day breakdown of where travel may be hindered due to weather as you travel to get to your Christmas destinations.

Sunday, December 26

Sunday's Forecast

Snow from Winter Storm Goliath will become locally heavy across parts of the southern High Plains, particularly eastern New Mexico, West Texas and the Texas panhandle. Blizzard conditions are possible at times in these areas as winds increase. Further east, a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain may create slick roads from western Oklahoma into central Texas, west of the I-35 corridor.
On the warm side of Winter Storm Goliath, an area of strong to severe thunderstorms is expected to develop over eastern Texas, into portions of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. Otherwise, an expansive area of locally heavy rain, which will bring the risk of flash flooding, is likely ahead of a frontal boundary from the Ozarks into the Middle Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and Northeast. Across parts of Upstate New York and northern New England, it may be cold enough for some snow and ice.
(MORE: More Severe Weather Expected Sunday)
Cold, but quiet weather conditions are expected to prevail across the Upper Midwest, westward across the central-northern Plains and Intermountain West. The next storm system will approach the West Coast with rain and higher elevation snow from northwestern California to the Pacific Northwest.
Air Delays Possible: Boston | Dallas-Fort Worth | St. Louis
Worst Interstate Travel Delays:

• Interstate 10 from Louisiana to central Texas (showers and thunderstorms); southwest Texas to New Mexico (heavy snow)
• Interstate 20 from Mississippi to Texas (showers and thunderstorms, blizzard conditions in West Texas)
• Interstate 30 from Dallas to Little Rock (showers and thunderstorms)
• Interstate 35 from Texas to Oklahoma (showers and thunderstorms); southern Kansas (snow and ice)
• Interstate 40 from central Oklahoma to Tennessee (showers and thunderstorms); western Oklahoma (ice storm); Texas panhandle (blizzard); New Mexico (snow)
• Interstate 44 from Oklahoma to Missouri (rain, locally heavy)
• Interstate 55 from Mississippi to Illinois (rain, locally heavy)
• Interstate 80 from Illinois to Pennsylvania (rain)
• Interstate 90 from Indiana to Massachusetts (rain)
• Interstate 95 from New Hampshire to New Jersey (rain showers); Maine (snow and ice)

Monday, December 27

Monday's Forecast

Snow and ice from Winter Storm Goliath will spread from the Plains into the Upper Midwest during the day and into portions of the Great Lakes and Northeast overnight. Winds will be gusty at times as well in the Midwest. There is still uncertainty in the timing of this system, as well as with how much cold air will be available. However, light to moderate snow or a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is likely from the central Plains into the Great Lakes region and into Upstate New York and portions of New England.
This system will also bring rain and thunderstorms from the South into the Ohio Valley and into the Mid-Atlantic. A few severe thunderstorms may develop, especially in Mississippi, Alabama, western Georgia, the western half of Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle. Heavy rainfall and flash flooding will remain big concerns as well from the Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley.
Much of the West will see dry conditions, with a few snow showers expected in the higher elevations of western Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, Nevada and the central and northern Sierra Nevada.
Air Delays Possible: Minneapolis | Chicago | Atlanta
Worst Interstate Travel Delays:

• Interstate 35 from Oklahoma to Minnesota (snow and ice)
• Interstate 40 from Arkansas to North Carolina (thunderstorms, rain)
• Interstate 55 from Mississippi to Illinois (thunderstorms, heavy rain)
• Interstate 75 from Georgia to Ohio (locally heavy rain, thunderstorms)
• Interstate 90 from Minnesota to Massachusetts (mainly snow, sleet and ice but some rain, especially in Ohio and Pennsylvania)
• Interstate 95 from Florida to New Jersey (showers, thunderstorms); northern New Jersey to Maine (snow and ice)

MORE: 30 Christmas Destinations (PHOTOS)