A pair of storms could cause travel misery for millions of Americans heading home for the festive season. According to forecasts, rain and snow will sweep virtually the whole eastern seaboard from today, pushing showers as far west as Texas. On Tuesday and Christmas Eve the precipitation is expected to intensify, with strong winds and rain storms lashing vital commuter routes and causing a travel nightmare for those headed home. Rain and floods: This is the outlook for the east coast this Christmas Eve, where rain will blanket many of the states - and the areas nearest the sea could be flooded . Thunder and rain: According to the Weather Channel, the rain could spread over much of the eastern third of the U.S. Looming threat: This  satellite image  shows a warm front moving into the Upper Mississippi Valley and western Great Lakes with snow showers. A pair of storms could cause travel misery for millions of Americans heading home for the festive season . Motorists make their way southbound on I-25 near Santa Fe, New Mexico,  during a snowstorm on Wednesday. Vast swathes of the U.S. face more snow over the Christmas period . Aviation experts at the National Weather Service say that a 'high impact event' is likely for airports in the New York City area on Wednesday due to torrential rain and high winds. Snow could also take hold around the northernmost states, with wind effect snow pummeling areas around the Great Lakes and Ohio valley, according to the Weather Channel. The storm could cause similar disruption as Winter Coast Storm Cato in November, when more than 400,000 people spent Thanksgiving without power as a nor'easter caused chaos across the East Coast. Snow fell in every state from Virginia to Maine as the storm hit its peak and forced the cancellation of more than 700 flights. The coming storms - whose precise tracks remain uncertain - will be bad news for many of the 98million people expected to make significant Christmas journeys this year. According to AP, an area of low pressure will shift across the central third of the country today, while a coastal system will develop over the southern Mid-Atlantic. A low pressure system will move eastward over the northern Plains and the Midwest on Monday. This system will usher widespread precipitation across the Plains, the Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley and the upper Midwest. Snow showers will be mostly confined to the northern Plains, while a mixture of rain and snow will affect the central high Plains and the upper Midwest. Light rain will spread across the southern Plains, the middle Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley and the Ohio Valley. In addition, a cold front associated with this system will extend west northwestward over the Intermountain West and the Pacific Northwest. Scattered light showers will persist over Oregon and Washington, while moderate to heavy snow showers will develop across the central and northern Rockies. Snow accumulations could exceed one foot across favorable mountain slopes. A light mixture of rain and snow will also develop across the northern Great Basin. Conditions will stay relatively clear across the Southwest as high pressure builds over the eastern Pacific. Meanwhile, a trough of low pressure will deepen along the coast of the Carolinas. Rain and thunderstorms will develop over the southern Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. An onshore flow from the Gulf of Mexico will also initiate thunderstorms over the eastern Gulf Coast on Monday. To the north, late evening rain and snow will be possible across the central and northern Appalachians. Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Sunday have ranged from a morning low of 1 degrees at Berlin, New Hampshire to a high of 84 degrees at Immokalee Regional Airport, Florida.
Twin storms could batter the East Coast over the holidays .
Millions travelling home for Christmas could be stranded .
The storm could cause similar disruption to storms over Thanksgiving .
A pair of storms could cause travel misery for millions of Americans heading home for the festive season. According to forecasts, rain and snow will sweep virtually the whole eastern seaboard from today, pushing showers as far west as Texas. On Tuesday and Christmas Eve the precipitation is expected to intensify, with strong winds and rain storms lashing vital commuter routes and causing a travel nightmare for those headed home. Rain and floods: This is the outlook for the east coast this Christmas Eve, where rain will blanket many of the states - and the areas nearest the sea could be flooded . Thunder and rain: According to the Weather Channel, the rain could spread over much of the eastern third of the U.S. Looming threat: This satellite image  shows a warm front moving into the Upper Mississippi Valley and western Great Lakes with snow showers. A pair of storms could cause travel misery for millions of Americans heading home for the festive season . Motorists make their way southbound on I-25 near Santa Fe, New Mexico,  during a snowstorm on Wednesday. Vast swathes of the U.S. face more snow over the Christmas period . Aviation experts at the National Weather Service say that a 'high impact event' is likely for airports in the New York City area on Wednesday due to torrential rain and high winds. Snow could also take hold around the northernmost states, with wind effect snow pummeling areas around the Great Lakes and Ohio valley, according to the Weather Channel. The storm could cause similar disruption as Winter Coast Storm Cato in November, when more than 400,000 people spent Thanksgiving without power as a nor'easter caused chaos across the East Coast. Snow fell in every state from Virginia to Maine as the storm hit its peak and forced the cancellation of more than 700 flights. The coming storms - whose precise tracks remain uncertain - will be bad news for many of the 98million people expected to make significant Christmas journeys this year. According to AP, an area of low pressure will shift across the central third of the country today, while a coastal system will develop over the southern Mid-Atlantic. A low pressure system will move eastward over the northern Plains and the Midwest on Monday. This system will usher widespread precipitation across the Plains, the Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley and the upper Midwest. Snow showers will be mostly confined to the northern Plains, while a mixture of rain and snow will affect the central high Plains and the upper Midwest. Light rain will spread across the southern Plains, the middle Mississippi Valley, the Tennessee Valley and the Ohio Valley. In addition, a cold front associated with this system will extend west northwestward over the Intermountain West and the Pacific Northwest. Scattered light showers will persist over Oregon and Washington, while moderate to heavy snow showers will develop across the central and northern Rockies. Snow accumulations could exceed one foot across favorable mountain slopes. A light mixture of rain and snow will also develop across the northern Great Basin. Conditions will stay relatively clear across the Southwest as high pressure builds over the eastern Pacific. Meanwhile, a trough of low pressure will deepen along the coast of the Carolinas. Rain and thunderstorms will develop over the southern Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. An onshore flow from the Gulf of Mexico will also initiate thunderstorms over the eastern Gulf Coast on Monday. To the north, late evening rain and snow will be possible across the central and northern Appalachians. Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Sunday have ranged from a morning low of 1 degrees at Berlin, New Hampshire to a high of 84 degrees at Immokalee Regional Airport, Florida.
millions of Americans heading home for the storm could cause similar disruption as Winter thunderstorms over the eastern Gulf Coast on