WeatherFanatics: Christmas Travel Problems Centering on East Coast

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

December 22,2013; 9:00PM,EST

While the worst of the snowstorm is winding down across the Upper Midwest, soaking rain and the resultant headaches for holiday travelers are shifting to the East Coast.
Soaking rain that made for a soggy Sunday from Mobile, Ala., to Atlanta to the southern and central Appalachians will gradually expand to the north and east through Monday.
Sunday night, the heavy rain will stretch from the Florida Panhandle to New Jersey. Pensacola, Fla., Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Roanoke, Va., Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia lie within this zone.
A steady increase in rain will also occur around New York City as the night progresses.

The rain will then extend from the eastern Florida Panhandle to the entire I-95 corridor of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Monday, soaking Tallahassee, Fla., Augusta, Ga., Raleigh, N.C., Richmond, Va., Trenton, N.J., New York City and Boston.
Downpours will continue to accompany the rain, creating headaches and hazards for both residents and travelers.
Enough rain could pour down to trigger flash flooding, especially in low-lying and poor drainage areas.
Any downpours would endanger motorists by dramatically reducing visibility and heightening the risk of vehicles hydroplaning. Airline passengers should also prepare for delays.

More Snow, Ice Concerns for New England

Not all of the East Coast will experience a soggy Monday. The air will remain cold enough for ice to keep roads and sidewalks extremely treacherous across the I-95 corridor north of Boston through Monday morning.
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This includes Portsmouth, N.H., and Portland and Bangor, Maine.
The same can be said for the St. Lawrence Valley through Sunday evening with snow persisting across northern Maine.

Other Travel Concerns Across the US on Monday

As cold air presses toward the East Coast in the wake of the soaking rain, snow showers will fly across the Great Lakes on Monday. The widespread swath of snow totals exceeding six inches, as was the case over the weekend, will not be repeated.
However, places downwind of the Great Lakes and across parts of Wisconsin could see enough snow to turn roads slick for a time.

The band of snow--producing pockets of an inch or so accumulation--over Wisconsin on Monday will drop southeastward to the central Appalachians Monday night, then the mid-Atlantic from New York City to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Also on Monday, non-accumulating flurries will start the day flying across Kansas and northern Oklahoma. The northern Plains will be dry, but subzero temperatures will cause anyone packing their vehicles across western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas to shiver.

No travel problems are in store for the Southwest on Monday as dry weather prevails, while the same cannot be said for the Northwest.
More rain and mountain snow will stream into Washington, northern Oregon and the northern Rockies. Those planning to travel on I-5 from Seattle to Portland should prepare for wet roads and reduced visibility as airline passengers may face flight delays.
Snow levels will be high enough for only rain to fall along I-90's Snoqualmie Pass through the Washington Cascades.
Tune in to AccuWeather Live Mornings every weekday at 7 a.m. EST. We will be talking about the weather leading up to Christmas.