Today’s top weather news: Christmas travel to see delays due to rounds of rain, snow

Welcome to the Daily Weather Update from FOX Weather. It’s Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. Start your day with everything you need to know about today’s weather. You can also get a quick briefing of national, regional and local weather whenever you like with the FOX Weather Update podcast.

Christmas travel delays expected due to rounds of snow, rain across US

If you’re among the millions preparing to travel ahead of the Christmas holiday, you’re going to want to brace yourself – delays on the roads and in the air are expected as rounds of rain and winter weather sweep across the country through the end of this week.

Major storms aren’t expected at this time, but precipitation will likely make those trips over the river and through the woods a bit slower than normal for millions.

Coldest air of the season set to invade the U.S.

Some bone-chilling cold is set to sweep across the northern U.S. this week, bringing some of the coldest temperatures so far this winter to millions in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

The FOX Forecast Center said temperatures would drop sharply on Saturday and Sunday, with highs expected to be nearly 20 degrees below average. Forecast low temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits for many in the Northeast, but that will be short-lived as warmer air moves in before Christmas.

This graphic shows the temperature departures in the U.S. through Sunday.

(FOX Weather)

Fire weather threat returns to Southern California

The fire weather threat has returned to Southern California as crews continue their work to extinguish the Franklin Fire.

Fire Weather Warnings are in effect for portions of the region, including Malibu and Santa Clarita, California, as the Santa Ana winds combined with low relative humidity will create elevated wildfire weather conditions on Wednesday.

This graphic shows the fire weather alerts in Southern California.

(FOX Weather)

Watch: Ohio earthquake shakes traffic cameras

Hundreds of people in Ohio were rattled Monday when a magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck near the community of Chesapeake, and cameras were rolling when the ground began to shake.

A video shared by OHGO, a website that shares real-time traffic information in Ohio, showed cameras beginning to shake as cars traveled on roads and highways in the area.

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