Christmas snow maps show that half of US states have the chance of a white Christmas

What’s new

Eighteen states have a “high” chance for a white Christmas this year, with even more states expecting a fair chance for holiday snow, according to a map shared by AccuWeather on Monday.

Why it matters

Millions of Americans will travel for the holidays this year, with a report from the American Automobile Association (AAA) predicting that more than 119 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles or more for the holidays by year’s end.

Thanksgiving also brought record travel this year, with millions of Americans facing dangerous weather on their journey home after the holiday, particularly in the Northeast, where the snow effect prompted officials in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York to urge people to postponing travel until the worst of the snow had passed.

Given that Christmas is on a Wednesday this year and only nine days away, Americans may be leaving early, meaning the forecast this weekend could have the biggest impact on travel.

What to know

AccuWeather’s white Christmas forecast map shows a “high chance” of snow in parts of 18 states, including Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Idaho, Utah, northern Arizona, northern New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, Michigan, northeast Ohio , far northwest in Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Much of the central and midwestern United States has a low chance of snow, with no chance in the far south.

Therefore, some of the storms that could contribute to snowfall that will remain until Christmas could disrupt travel this weekend as Americans head out to see their friends and family.

In the central United States, a few disturbances will affect the Plains states through the Midwest, although there are no “major storms” in the forecast, according to AccuWeather.

Unsettled weather will occur from Northern California up through Seattle this weekend with “storm after storm” every other day. Another storm will hit the region Friday night, with another stronger system on its tail likely to hit Sunday.

States with the deepest snow as of Monday are in the Pacific Northwest, another map created by AccuWeather showed.

What people say

AccuWeather long distance expert Paul Pastelok told Newsweek: “A swath of snow could affect road travel across the northern plains and upper Midwest beginning the holiday weekend. It washes out and falls apart as it moves east.”

He added: “What’s a problem is the West Coast. They keep getting hammered.”

What happens next

Americans traveling for the holiday are encouraged to keep an eye on the weather forecast to note any travel disruptions that could affect their flights or cause problems for road travel.