by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 7:40 PM ET, Thu December 18, 2025
Early Christmas travelers who were aiming to beat the holiday rush, may be hindered by several different storms that are expected to have impacts from the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast and locations in between.
On the East Coast, AccuWeather is reporting a storm bringing rain and gusty winds may cause messy travel conditions, particularly toward the latter part of this week.
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, a so-called “Pineapple Express” storm system that’s moving in from Hawaii is expected to trigger flooding and significant travel snafus in Washington, Oregon and Northern California.
“Flooding in the higher elevations can occur in a matter of a few hours. However, where these rivers reach lower, flatter terrain just above sea level, moderate to major flooding can be delayed and longer-lasting and perhaps up to a few days,” AccuWeather's Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski told Travel + Leisure.
Sosnowski told the publication that as the focus of the atmospheric rivers shifts southward later this week, the potential for small stream and river flooding will increase substantially.
Separately, strong winds of up to 70 miles per hour are impacting the Northwest and Rockies, according to Travel + Leisure. This storm is impacting Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. The winds may be strong enough to bring down trees and power lines. Regional road travel may also be impacted.
AccuWeather is also projecting that the Rockies, Cascades, Sierra Nevada, parts of the Midwest, and Northeast interior have a 75 percent chance or more of having a white Christmas this year (which would be at least one inch of snow on Christmas Day.)
More than 122 million Americans are expected to travel during Christmas and New Year’s, according to data from AAA.
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