Christmas travel concerns:
Central Texas likely will miss severe weather as Christmas front arrives.
Central Texas will likely miss any severe weather, but a winter storm system is expected to bring a snowy Christmas Day to North Texas along with possible tornadoes and flooding to Houston and much of the southern U.S.
A winter storm system is expected to bring a powdery Christmas Day to the DallasFort Worth area and more dangerous thunderstorms, tornadoes and flooding to Houston and much of the southern United States.
Forecasters said Central Texas will likely miss any severe weather associated with that system on Christmas Day, although a cold front coming through the Austin area in the afternoon is expected to increase wind speeds and drop temperatures to freezing by Christmas night.
Areas east of Waco will start Christmas morning with rain and isolated thunderstorms, according to Joe Harris, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth.
“As the day progresses and the storm system moves over the region ... any remaining rain will transition over to a mix of rain and snow northwest of the (Dallas-Fort Worth) Metroplex in the early to midafternoon. The snow will move east along I-20 and the Red River,” Harris said.
The snow, Harris said, will mostly remain north of Interstate 20 and stop by 6 to 8 p.m. That area will likely see 1 to 2 inches of snow.
The warmer, more severe end of that storm system ahead of the cold front will hit the Houston area late Monday, on Christmas Eve, and persist through the early morning. Kristina Pydynowski, a senior
meteorologist with Accuweather.com, said that Monday will be a good day for travel, but Monday night into Tuesday will be dangerous, both with severe weather including blinding downpours and damaging winds in the Houston and Southeast Texas area and snowfall in North Texas.
The highest threat of tornadoes Tuesday is in the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle in the early morning hours, Pydynowski said. By Wednesday, the threat of severe weather is on the East Coast from North Carolina to northern Florida, she said.
“Tornadoes touching down during the nighttime hours is always a dangerous situation as people may sleep through vital warnings or have difficulty seeing an approaching twister,” Pydynowski wrote in an Accuweather.com post.
The severe weather will continue east on Christmas Day, shifting out of Houston to Louisiana after the morning.
Air travelers leaving Austin might face some delays if flying to the areas with snow or severe weather and can check Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s website for flight information. Airport officials recommend people arrive 90 minutes early to fly out. Giftwrapped packages may be opened, even if they are in checked luggage. Contact Farzad Mashhood at 445-3972.Twitter: @fmashhood; Contact Jazmine Ulloa at 445-3763. Twitter: @jazmineulloa