Pair of rainstorms to soak eastern US Christmas week

By Brett Rathbun, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist

December 19,2015; 6:51PM,EST

 

 

Storm systems will bring rounds of rain across the eastern United States next week and ruin the hopes of a white Christmas.
Following a chilly weekend with areas of lake-effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes, the next storm system will bring a round of rain across the Eastern states on Monday into Tuesday.
The second storm system will spread rain across the region on Wednesday through Thursday.

"The combination of an area of high pressure over the western Atlantic Ocean and a train of low pressure systems will drive moisture northward out of the Gulf of Mexico and across the eastern United States during Christmas week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio said.
The heaviest rain with these storms will be focused across the Southern states with more spotty downpours from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast.
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"Most of the time the rain will not be heavy or excessive," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "However, there will be a couple of occasions where it can pour."
Those traveling for Christmas from Boston to New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Atlanta and Nashville will have to deal with wet roadways. Luckily, roads will not be snow covered or slippery.
Last minute Christmas shoppers will have to bring along the rain jackets and umbrellas when heading to the mall. While it will not rain the entire week, the risk for a shower in the area will be present for most days.

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Portions of the Eastern states will have to deal with areas of dense fog, which can lead to travel delays on the road and in the air.
While much of the eastern U.S. will receive between 0.50 and 1.00 inch of rain next week, portions of the Gulf Coast could receive between 2 and 4 inches.
Those traveling along interstate 10 from Tallahassee, Florida, to Houston may have to face travel delays as well as ponding on the roadways. Drivers are urged to slow down in heavy downpours to reduce the risk of hydroplaning.
Track the rain by using AccuWeather Minutecast®.
Rain across the Southern states could be in the form of thunderstorms at times. The threat for any widespread severe weather will be low, but some thunderstorms could contain locally gusty winds.

Any rain next week will be beneficial for portions of the Northeast as some areas are dealing with an abnormally dry or moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
A strong area of high pressure will push the storms out of the area by Christmas Day from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast. Snow showers may occur across the higher elevations of northern New England while the risk for showers will remain across the Southern states on Christmas Day.
As the jet stream shifts back to the north next week, not only will the eastern U.S. be dealing with areas of rain, drizzle and fog, but also the return of mild air.

"High temperatures may reach or exceed 70 Fahrenheit on Thursday from New York City to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., challenging record highs," Rossio said.
There are indications the stormy and mild weather pattern will continue through the end of the month.

While November set a record for the warmest month on record for some eastern U.S. cities, the same will be possible for the month of December.