SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Travel for the Christmas holiday will ramp up in the next few days. Are there any travel concerns here in the East?
Are there any storms to contend with?
You may hear some national headlines about weather causing travel headaches this week before Christmas. That may be deceiving for those whose travels are confined to areas east of the Mississippi River.
Right now, the main travel days pre-Christmas of Thursday through Sunday look to be quiet in the East.
More specifically, in the Northeast right down to Florida, it is mainly dry. It does look like a weak weather system aloft could cause some light showers and over higher elevations in Upstate New York there could be some snow.
However, the precipitation is light, and temperatures are above freezing, so roads should be fine which means no travel headaches.
What about Northeast flooding?
Even though the heavy rain from Monday has departed, there are still river flood warnings out for parts of New England into eastern New York, too many to detail here. The weather being dry through the end of the week, though, means these rivers continue to fall in the coming days.
If travels take you to New England, it would be a good idea to go to the National Weather Service Northeast River Forecast Center link here. They have a great interactive map to view all the latest warnings.
Are there any spots with potential weather problems?
The United States is a BIG country, so given the time of year, there will be some trouble spots.
Of all places, Southern California poses the first threat. Wednesday evening through Friday there are periods of heavy rain that could cause flooding around Los Angeles and San Diego along with gusty winds. That certainly could cause airline delays.
Thursday night and Friday there is a separate system that brings rain and mountain snow into the Pacific Northwest. Again, airport delays in Seattle and Portland are possible.
Any snow concerns?
Over the weekend, the weather focus shifts to the Rockies and the Plains.
The system coming out of Southern California at the end of the week could bring snowfall to the foothills of the Colorado Rockies, so heads up to those flying into Denver.
Ahead of this system, showers and storms develop over the Southern Plains during the weekend, so places like Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Houston may contend with delays.
