Brittany Lockley

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AAA is forecasting a record-breaking 119.3 million travelers will take to the nation’s roads, runways, and rails during the year-end holidays. This figure represents those traveling 50 miles or more away from home between December 21st through&nbsp;January 1st, marking an increase of 3 million travelers compared to last year.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-21 073312-1734791616672.png">&nbsp;AAA compiles this information using data from INRIX, a global mobility analytics company, as well as other data and intelligence providers. The organization warns that, in the most congested U.S. cities, travel times could be up to twice as long as normal due to the increased volume of travelers.&nbsp;This year’s travel surge reflects a continued upward trend in demand, fueled by the ongoing recovery from the pandemic. The number of holiday travelers—projected to reach 119.3 million—is expected to approach pre-pandemic levels, with 90% opting to travel by car, making it the most popular. However, while the number of travelers is climbing, weather conditions are also expected to play a significant role in shaping travel experiences.&nbsp;<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/FORECAST-1734818911883.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>In the Pacific Northwest, travelers can expect a series of weather systems throughout the weekend and into next week, potentially causing slick road conditions.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/FORECAST-1734830005025.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Further east, a wave of weather will move through the Great Lakes and into the Northeast, raising the likelihood of a white Christmas but also contributing to travel disruptions.&nbsp;<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-21 07-41-02-1734792084161.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>&nbsp;Although no severe weather is anticipated at the moment, the South will experience two back-to-back upper-level lows, which will increase the chances of severe weather. On the ground, moisture from the South Central and Southeastern U.S. will be drawn into the region ahead of a front, potentially leading to heavy rainfall and an enhanced risk of severe weather.&nbsp;<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-21 07-41-51-1734792155533.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Stay with Weather Nation through the Holidays for the Latest forecast.&nbsp;

Rain & Snow Could Impact Millions Ahead of Holiday Travel

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Kevin Schneider

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Snowfall moved in quickly across the Northeast Friday into early Saturday. For some areas, it was the first measurable snowfall in the month of December in quite some time!<div class="twitter-tweet" style="display: flex; justify-content: center" data-twitt-post-id="1870568996074033342" src="https://x.com/NWSNewYorkNY/status/1870568996074033342"></div>Behind the snow, arctic air will filled in from Canada, dropping low temperatures down to the single digits. With gusty winds, this will bring wind chills down below zero for many areas. Look at some of the lows early Sunday morning, many locations are barely on the right side of zero!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-22 063001-1734874214837.jpg">Wind chills will be dangerously low for a few regions, highlighted with cold weather advisories (above). With wind chills this low, effects of frostbite could take as little as 20-30 minutes to develop, so be sure to bundle up and cover your skin!<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Baron 2-1734824973152.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Wind chills will remain quite cold into Monday morning, down to near zero or below zero for some. Temperatures will warm up to the 30s into early next week after highs in the teens and 20s this weekend.

Arctic Temps Blast the Northeast After Snow

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WeatherNation Meteorologists

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While upper-level ridging will bring <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/toasty-temperatures-to-cap-off-december">record-breaking warmth to the West</a>, it will also focus energy and moisture into the Pacific Northwest with multiple waves set to impact the area.Consistent rainfall will be possible across parts of the Northwest and Northern California through the weekend. The heaviest amounts of rain will be near the coast. With the track of the lows, most of the heaviest rain will be along the coast.Rain totals will be between 2-3 inches through Monday.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-21 055131-1734785502128.png">As we get later into the weekend and next week, additional bouts of heavy rain will come onshore. One of the more impressive waves could be arriving just in time for Christmas Eve.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-21 055210-1734785577198.png"><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Web 1-1734877417810.png">From there, the signal remains strong for additional heavy precipitation. The Climate Prediction Center has very high confidence in above-average precipitation for the days after Christmas from the northern California coast up to the Puget Sound.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-21 055236-1734785568522.png">There will be growing concern for hazardous impacts in the days ahead. Stay with WeatherNation for the latest on this developing situation. You can find your west regional forecast at the :50 every hour.

Tracey Anthony

Waves of Rain and Snow Through Next Week for the Northwest

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Taban Sharifi grew up in Southern California between Los Angeles and San Diego. She is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) with the American Meteorological Society (AMS). She has a B.S. in Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Environmental Sciences with a minor in Environmental Systems and Society from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Go Bruins! While in school, Taban was a meteorology intern with NBC LA. There she helped forecast daily weather for the greater Los Angeles region and created a playbook to deploy weather sensors for NBC owned-and-operated stations across the country. Her first on-air job took her to San Angelo, Texas, where she was a morning meteorologist and co-anchor. Working in West Texas gave her knowledge and experience covering severe storms. From there, she moved to Palm Springs, California. People think forecasting in California is sunshine all the time, but with temperatures in the 120’s, wildfires, damaging winds, floodings, and earthquakes, the forecasting kept her very busy! She also worked there as a general assignment reporter and told community stories. Taban is excited for the challenge and opportunity to forecast nationally with WeatherNation. She also looks forward to exploring all that Colorado has to offer!

Taban Sharifi

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Falling snow might be a little tougher to come by this year on Christmas...Why?A strong upper-level high pressure calling all the shots out west. As the East Coast stays active and cooler, the opposite will be true out west until a storm system moves in around Christmas.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/PIC 1-1734830980456.jpg">Just like the last few days, more records fell across both the Northwest and Southwest. More records will be possible heading through the weekend!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/1-1734838932854.png">Places like Phoenix and Los Angeles will see highs remaining in the 60s and 70s, continuing to threaten records for this late into December. And the warm weather looks like it'll stick around. While it might not be historically hot next week, it's still looking well above average for this time of year.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/1-1734825121887.png">The northwest will also see its fair share of warm temperatures for this time of the year. Temperatures will climb into the 50s and 60s for some spots that typically are in the 30s.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/1-1734825162399.png">

Toasty Temperatures Will Cap off December

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Statistically speaking, the best odds of course will be in the northern states and mountains (above). Anywhere shaded in purple is close to a sure bet to have snow on the ground when you wake up on Christmas morning. We're still a few days out, with about 1 in 4 areas looking at snow on the ground now. How does that compare to last year? We had only 14% covered this time last year, but in 2022 there was more than twice the areal coverage!<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-22 064734-1734875276436.jpg">So how are we looking this year? Better than expected. Our next system will fly through the northeast over the coming days, that will be the best shot at snow into Tuesday and Wednesday. Elsewhere, the problem has been temperatures--we've been far too warm.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/1-1734581917857.png">Could we keep the snow around from this weekend that put down a few inches? Probably. Will a reinforcing shot of snow help out? Yeah. While this isn't a blockbuster system, it will give us a great chance to have snow on the ground Christmas morning.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-22 064745-1734875317445.jpg">Elsewhere, where do you have to go? The mountains. <video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-22 06-54-09-1734875686906.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>

HOLIDAY FORECAST: Where You Might Get a White Christmas

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Rob grew up in South Florida, where daily afternoon storms and hurricanes piqued his interest in meteorology early on. That interest was fostered by his teachers and his father, who one time brought him onto the roof of their home to watch a funnel cloud move through the Everglades several miles away. Years of filmmaking and tv production in high school gradually pushed him toward broadcast meteorology at Florida State University, where he joined and eventually led the student run daily weather show. After graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Meteorology, he began his career at KESQ in Palm Springs, California before heading to KFSN in Fresno and WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina. He has covered a diverse array of extreme weather events, including haboobs and flash flooding in the desert, extreme snow in the Sierra, hurricanes, and Appalachian ice storms. He also enjoys telling stories and reporting about weather issues.

Connect with Rob on <a href="https://twitter.com/WxRobBradley">Twitter</a>

Rob Bradley

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There's a reason bowl season typically features southerly locations or indoor stadiums, but this is the new world of the College Football Playoffs! The first round will feature four home games for the higher seeded team and with three of those games set to take place in the Midwest and Northeast, things are looking frigid! <h1>Friday</h1>As Indiana and Notre Dame kick things off Friday evening (top of page), temperatures are expected to be below freezing for the entire contest, with wind chills into the low 20s and snow flurries possible toward the second half. At least both of these teams hail from the Hoosier State.<h1>Saturday</h1><img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-20 072655-1734705137240.png">The first game on Saturday is likely to be the coldest, as SMU travels to State College, PA where snow will likely be on the ground. Snow isn't expected during the game, but temperatures will hover in the mid 20s and the wind will certainly make things worse as it blows in from the NW at 15 mph! Wind chills will likely be around 10-15° for most of the contest.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-20 072705-1734705150514.png">Temperatures may technically be colder in Columbus than State College by the end of the game, but the wind won't be as strong, meaning it likely won't feel as cold. It's still going to be frigid though, with temperatures in the 20s for the entire event.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/2024-12-20 07-28-05-1734705183037.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>While snow is falling in some of these locations on Friday, snow doesn't look likely for most of the games. The best chance for flurries is likely around Notre Dame if lake effect snow can drift over campus.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot 2024-12-20 072716-1734705163775.png">Clemson and Texas fans are in for a treat compared to fans attending the other first round games. Temperatures will be comfortable during the tailgate, getting a bit cool by the end of the game. The next round of the College Football Playoffs will likely be much more mild, with outdoor games in Phoenix and Pasadena and the other contests held indoors in Atlanta and New Orleans.

Cold Start to the College Football Playoffs

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Snowy conditions will persist across the Upper Midwest Friday morning as another Alberta Clipper system quickly dives across the region. Snow and wind will have the biggest impacts, but a blast of arctic air will accompany the system. Snowfall totals could top 3-6 inches for some areas (top of page) in Wisconsin and Michigan.<video src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/FORECAST-1734664710245.mp4" controls="true" width="100%"></video>Snow will continue to create slick travel as it drops to the southeast, clearing out of the Great Lakes into Friday afternoon.<img src="https://media.weathernationtv.com/app/uploads/2024/12/PIC 3-1734665301346.jpg">For the latest Central Regional Forecast, tune in at :30 past the hour!

Snow Tapers Off in the Midwest Friday Afternoon

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Record high temperatures are in the forecast for Friday in the northwest for even more cities within the region. A building ridge of high pressure is going to allow for the heat to also build and temperatures to climb. Especially along the Pacific coast line, temperatures are looking to reach upwards of 20 degrees above average.

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High temperature on Saturday could even get close to record highs but aren't expected to break as many.

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As of Thursday, high temperature have already been broken for a few cities in Oregon. Astoria, OR hit a high temperature of 85 degrees and this breaks the previous record of 78 degrees set back in 1940. The city of Newport, OR hit a high temperature of 86 degrees which breaks the record of 71 degrees set in 1987. High temperatures were tied in both Salem, OR (86 degrees) and Eugene, OR (87 degrees) that were previously set in 1987 for both cities.

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With the heat, low humidity and the gusty breeze around the ridge, Red Flag Warnings have been prompted for areas along interstate 5; stretching Portland to Eugene. Fires will be easy to spread so precautions are highly recommended.

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Record Heat is Building in the Northwest

Rain & Snow Could Impact Millions Ahead of Holiday Travel

AAA is forecasting a record-breaking 119.3 mi

Arctic Temps Blast the Northeast After Snow

Snowfall moved in quickly across the Northeas

Waves of Rain and Snow Through Next Week for the Northwest

While upper-level ridging will bring record-b

Toasty Temperatures Will Cap off December

Falling snow might be a little tougher to com

HOLIDAY FORECAST: Where You Might Get a White Christmas

Statistically speaking, the best odds of cour

Cold Start to the College Football Playoffs

There's a reason bowl season typically featur

Snow Tapers Off in the Midwest Friday Afternoon

Snowy conditions will persist across the Uppe