Is the Ho Ho Ho holiday travel weather, naughty or nice this year?

Tis’ the season for millions of us to travel "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house" this holiday season, and an active weather pattern could complicate travel plans across the United States.

A series of potent storms is expected to hammer the West Coast through Christmas Day while precipitation in the Central and Eastern states will also contribute to travel woes. Whether by car or plane, travelers should brace for delays and hazardous conditions on their way to holiday celebrations.

Farther to the east, the combination of a clipper storm and Arctic air will lead to slippery travel and even snow-covered roads for a time from parts of the Great Lakes to the coastal Northeast into Saturday evening. Even as the snow, wind and related travel delays diminish early in the weekend, the cold air will linger and may set the stage for more wintry trouble next week.

A storm will push across the northern Plains with spotty snow near and north of its track. As that storm reaches the Mississippi Valley by early next week, a moisture flow will cause precipitation to become widespread and significant.

Areas of rain and fog with embedded thunderstorms are in store from northeastern Texas to the mid-Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley states on Monday. The rain, patchy fog and spotty thunderstorms will shift eastward across the central Gulf coast, Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians on Monday night and the day before Christmas. A batch of rain and thunderstorms may survive the trip to the southern Atlantic coast by Christmas Day.

The trouble spots this weekend and Christmas Day? Look for inclement weather across the West and the Southern Plains, while some of the coldest air of the season briefly slides across parts of the eastern US.

About 3-6 inches of snow fell across eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut.

A plume of moisture may remain over the lower Mississippi and Ohio valleys on Christmas Day as one of the storms moves offshore over the Atlantic. The lingering moisture can lead to areas of rain, drizzle and fog over parts of the South Central states. And if a White Christmas is on your Christmas list this year, here's are some areas you can find the white wintery weather:

If you’re staying in Florida for the holidays, here’s generally what you can expect: a cold front pushed through the State early on Saturday so mainly dry conditions are expected state wide. The coldest weather will (of course) be in north Florida with parts of the state under a freeze warning tonight with some patchy frost expected by Sunday morning.

Central Florida can expect plenty of sunshine with unseasonably cooler temperatures through Sunday. A gradual warm up with start Monday and last into Christmas Day.

If you’re headed to south Florida for the holidays, the forecast doesn’t get much better than this with a little bit of everything for everyone. Crisp mornings will be followed by cool but beautiful afternoons. As Christmas Day arrives, warmer weather will arrive too. Highs will rebound to the 70s on Christmas as last the rest of the holiday week.

For Southwest Florida expect the region to be slightly cooler than Southeast Florida, with highs in the 60s on Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning will be the coldest night for the region.

Cities across Southwest Florida will wake up with temperatures around the mid-40s by sunrise. Boating conditions will be rough with seas reaching up to 7 feet.

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