It may be normal in the north, but in places as far south as the Tennessee Valley, it can also snow on Christmas morning. Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; and the North Georgia Mountains could get some. Higher heights will have more accumulation, but places like Knoxville, which will most likely have a snowy Christmas Eve, historically have only a 3% chance of a white Christmas.
This is all part of a larger storm system that is getting stronger and can cause major problems all over the east coast.
On Wednesday, snow will fall in much of the Midwest, which will also face extreme winds. Winter storm guards are in effect throughout much of Eastern North Dakota, Minnesota, and parts of northwestern Wisconsin. Snowstorm conditions are possible through downtown North Dakota through Wednesday.
“Winds can blow up to 60 mph, significantly reducing visibility in drifting snow,” said the National Weather Service.
As the storm moves east, it will mainly be a rainmaker. Christmas Eve will be wet for millions, from Upstate New York to the Florida Panhandle. There may even be some severe storms.
“Last-minute shoppers should be on the lookout for fast-moving storms,” said CNN meteorologist Gene Norman. “This storm setup would easily allow dangerous winds and even a few brief isolated tornadoes. Especially on Christmas Eve, the eastern parts of North and South Carolina, South Georgia and Alabama and parts of the Florida Panhandle are at risk.
From the Ohio Valley to the Tennessee Valley, the rain will turn to snow on Thursday afternoon. Much of West Virginia and Eastern Ohio could see 3-5 inches of snow, with higher elevations even more.
For the major cities in the northeast, the expected rainfall is causing places where snow is already on the ground. In New York, the Binghamton National Weather Service office has warned residents, “Where heavy snow has been falling recently, it could add weight to old snow pads on roofs / structures, resulting in collapsed structures.”
Heavy rains after snow can also quickly melt and cause flooding.
The storm will largely disappear by morning, leaving a cold and windy Christmas in the south, but parts of the northeast will be quite warm. “Boston has a forecast high in the mid-50s Friday that not only is 10 degrees above normal, but also means Christmas Day will be warmer than Halloween in Beantown,” said CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
Millions of people travel despite the pandemic
Although the number of Covid-19 is the highest, people still travel by air. The Transportation Security Administration said Monday it has screened more than a million people at airport security for the third day in a row, a first during the pandemic. The TSA says, “1,064,629 people passed national checkpoints on Sunday.” This means that 3.2 million people have flown in three days.
Wednesday we could see delays in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota, and Grand Forks, North Dakota. Thursday, the delays due to rainfall will be felt throughout the southeast. This includes New Orleans, Jackson, Mississippi, and Atlanta. Snow delays will occur in places such as Knoxville, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
Travel delays are expected in Southern California over the next few days as the powerful Santa Ana winds erupt Wednesday and Thursday. For LA and Ventura Counties, the winds will be 40-60 mph with low humidity. This exponentially increases the fire potential and causes existing fires to grow.