White and wet Christmas conditions have led to delays for holiday travelers returning home on Thursday as rain and mountain snow batter the Pacific Northwest and strong thunderstorms rumble in the South.
Thirteen million people are under risk of severe storms Thursday across eastern Texas, western Louisiana and southern Arkansas.
Weather-related travel delays will likely unfold in the southern Plains and the Pacific Northwest due to severe storms, affecting hubs in Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.
There have been over 1,300 delays within, into or out of the U.S. Thursday, according to FlightAware data and 42 cancellations, as of 8:30 a.m. ET.
FlightAware’s Misery Map showed Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with the highest number of delays, followed by New York City-area airports and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
Scattered storms and thunderstorms will affect the south-central U.S. on Thursday, with all hazards possible for cities including Houston, Waco and Lufkin in Texas, and Shreveport and Alexandria in Louisiana.
The Storm Prediction Center has issued a slight risk of severe storms for portions of the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas region Thursday, warning of heavy rainfall with a slight risk of flash flooding. Heavy rain is likely to continue in the mid-South going into Friday as the system slowly moves eastward, the National Weather Service said.
More strong storms will be possible Friday across Louisiana and Mississippi, and more organized severe storms will be possible on Saturday.
Come Saturday, 5 million people will be under risk of storms capable of hail, high winds and isolated tornadoes, which could affect Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Lake Charles in Louisiana and Jackson, Mississippi.
The severe threat may persist on Sunday for northern Florida into southern and eastern Georgia and parts of the Carolinas.
Meanwhile, in the Pacific Northwest, a series of atmospheric river events is unfolding, bringing “moderate to heavy rainfall” and a few thunderstorms Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said in its morning advisory.
The system is forecast to drop 1 to 3 inches of rain, with risks of flooding. The system will move inland and have a break Thursday afternoon, with another round of rain arriving by evening and an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain by Friday morning, according to the weather service.
Up to 3 feet of snow will be possible in the Cascades, and snow will overspread the northern Rockies through the weekend.
Also today, 10 million people are under wind alerts from California up to Oregon and Washington and east into Idaho.
Winter storm and high surf warnings are in place in Washington, Oregon and Northern California.
High surf and major storm swells led to the collapse of the Santa Cruz Wharf on Monday, sending three people plunging into the ocean. Two were rescued from the water, and a third made it out of the water on their own. All were hospitalized with minor injuries.
Elsewhere, dry conditions are forecast for the desert Southwest, northern Plains and Northeast U.S. to close out the week.
The weather comes as millions are expected to make holiday journeys or return home from their trips. AAA projected 119.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, with 107 million traveling by car.
East Coasters rushing to get back home will have clear weather conditions Thursday.
However, road travel will be difficult in the Northwest mountain passes, and Dallas and Houston could face delays at airports and road slowdowns due to the storms.
