A Christmas Miracle -- And Nightmare

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AccuWeather radar at 8:30 am central time
As cold air turns more of the rain to snow, parts of the Southeast will have the first White Christmas in more than 100 years, according to meteorologist Mike Phelps.

However, the chances this storm will cause a major snow storm from Philadelphia to Boston are improving. Here is AccuWeather's latest forecast map:

Winter storms warnings (pink) and watches (dark blue) are up for most of this area:

With the heavy return travel tomorrow, it could be a nightmare. The airlines have already issued waivers (United's is here) which give you several options if you have a restricted ticket (which most everyone does): You can leave earlier to beat the storm or you can stay another day or two without penalty. Best of all, you do not have to go to the airport, just call their reservations or go online to rebook.


UPDATE: 10:45AM Central. New computer guidance is in and it confirms my suspicions. NYC will get slammed and there will be major travel effects.  Here are the results of the last two computer model runs:

THE BEST CASE SCENARIO has NYC getting 8-10" and Boston more than a foot.


THE WORST CASE SCENARIO has NYC getting well over a foot.
(click to enlarge scale and maps)


Stay with AccuWeather the rest of the weekend for updates including specific city-by-city forecasts!

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