Mostly mild with storms in the west and parts of south-central US

December 24 (UPI) – Overall, holiday weather in the U.S. should make Christmas travel easier for most of the country, but people on the West Coast and southern U.S. could face harsher weather.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, heavy rain and mountain snow is forecast for the West Coast on Christmas night, while increasing showers and thunderstorms are forecast for the southern United States.

However, the majority of the nation should enjoy mild weather that will not affect holiday travel and activities over Christmas, NOAA predicts.

An “energetic storm track” in the eastern Pacific Ocean is likely to trigger a series of atmospheric river events in Northern California and western Oregon on Tuesday that could bring between 2 and 4 inches of rain during the evening hours, and more in some locations.

A cold front is following the storm track, which NOAA says will initially produce heavy snow that will dissipate as the front passes through the area.

Higher elevations in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains are expected to experience the heaviest snowfall, with snow accumulations possible up to 12 inches, affecting travel over mountain passes.

Heavy rain and snow early Tuesday will become heavy snowfall with accumulations of up to 8 inches and windy conditions making road travel in South Lake Tahoe “extremely difficult and dangerous,” according to AccuWeather.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for the Lake Tahoe region until 7:00 p.m. Christmas Eve. Overnight lows will fall into the teens but the weather on Christmas Day should be calm and dry.

A weak low-pressure system crossing the Northeast region on Tuesday will bring light and occasionally moderate snowfall across the central Appalachians and New England states, but the system should exit the area by Tuesday evening, making way for a white Christmas Day, NOAA forecasts.

A low pressure system moving over Texas will combine with a southerly flow from the western Gulf of Mexico that will bring scattered showers and occasional thunderstorms moving northward from East Texas across Arkansas by Christmas morning, according to NOAA moving south of Missouri.

Some areas in Texas, Arkansas and Missouri may experience an inch or more of rainfall.

NOAA says most East Coast states will see a weakening of cold temperatures Tuesday evening as an arctic high-pressure system moves offshore and milder air from the Ohio Valley moves eastward across the region.

Temperatures are expected to be above average across most of the country, particularly in the central and southern Plains, where daytime highs could be 15 to 20 degrees above average, with highs in the 60s and 70s across much of Texas on Christmas Day could.