Chances for a white Christmas across the nation's mid-section may be low, but an active weather pattern could bother holiday travel in some key locations.

Turns out the best chance for snow on Christmas Eve may be over the Sierras in the West and the Appalachians in the mid-Atlantic states, according to Freese-Notis Weather. Cold, dry weather is seen on the 24th over much of the Midwest.
 
"The best chance for fresh white snow may occur next Friday and Saturday across Iowa, southern Minnesota and later over northern Illinois and Indiana, as a fast developing area of low pressure develops over northern Missouri and races eastward and weakens with time," the weather service reported on Agriculture.com Thursday.
 
"Next Thursday, a storm system could bring early morning flight delays along the megalopolis flight path on the eastern seaboard before it pushes eastward out over the Atlantic on Thursday and Thursday evening," Freese-Notis said.

The Weather Channel's tracking of White Christmas chances shows that most of Midwest farm country will lack snow over Christmas. The website's snow map indicates that the largest area that can expect a White Christmas is in the mountain West.

Snowfall has been much below normal cross much of the U.S. so far this year, especially in the northern Midwest and Eastern Plains, says Don Keeney, MDA EarthSat Weather. "Colder temperatures in January may begin to change this, however," he said in a newsletter issued Thursday.