Christmas travel will likely be impacted across the U.S.

If you plan on traveling this holiday season, you'll want to pay close attention to the forecast.  Even if we don't see too much of an impact locally, a potentially big Christmas storm could have impacts on air and road travel leading up to Christmas.

A series of storm systems will invade the Pacific Northwest through this weekend, but most of those will bypass us to the south.  Late Sunday night, winds will begin to shift around to the southwest allowing temperatures to rise through Monday morning.  At the same time, an approaching cold front will begin to move east out of the Midwest and sweep across the Great Lakes Tuesday.  Ahead of the cold front, a mixture of rain and snow - and possibly freezing rain - could occur Monday and early Tuesday in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.  Heavier snow is possible further north into Wisconsin and Minnesota while rain develops further downstate.

By Tuesday, cold air wrapping in behind the cold front could bring a period of light to moderate snow during the afternoon.  This will be occurring at the same time low pressure begins to organize in the far southern Plains and gulf states. 

It's still a week away and many things will change between now and then, but it's important to put this storm system on the radar because it will be coming right before the holidays.  As low pressure moves across the Great Lakes Tuesday, another and stronger low will be developing in the far southern Plains.  This low looks to track northeast into the Ohio River Valley and cause some big headaches out east.  Whether or not we see impacts from this storm depend on where exactly the track takes it.

The European model has the low further west, closer to Illinois, which would have a greater impact on the Stateline with a mix and heavier snow through Christmas Eve night.  The GFS model takes that same low, but slides it further to the east.  We would still receive some snow, but it wouldn't amount to much.  It's still a ways away, but if you have plans on traveling next week you'll want to make sure to keep close tabs on the forecast.  There are still many different variables we have to look at going into next week.  We'll continue with updates, especially as we get close to Christmas.  Right now, the greatest travel impact days are going to be Monday night and potentially Wednesday evening of next week.