Christmas week snow and will it impact travel? Post Christmas arctic surge?

It's Christmas week and who doesn't like snow on Christmas week?  I'm sure anyone doing any traveling at all. Although I don't see a BIG storm before Christmas, there will be some "bumps in the road" in regards to travel and road conditions. A quick moving clipper system will track across the area tonight into EARLY Tues. AM.  I've attached some snowfall expectations from 3 of our models.  All in general agreement of 2-4" of snow lining up through the F/M area.  The snow will start later today in NW North Dakota and track toward the Valley after dark.  Most of the snow will be winding down early Tues. morning.  Although a general 2-4" will lie across the Valley, there is expected to be "banding" of the snow so some localized areas could possibly see 6" amounts.  The most likely area would be over in lakes country.  There may be some blowing of the snow on Tuesday as well as this will be a light fluffy type of snow.   A break in the weather then for Wednesday with some light snow showers on Thursday but shouldn't amount to much.  The next system comes in Christmas eve into Christmas day with some light accumulations possible.  A more "potent" system is expected to track into the area on the 27th.  This follows in line with the LRC (which is set at a 60 day cycle).   When that system passed through in October, it dropped quite a bit of precip over the valley.  Arctic air will follow the storm on the 27th.. 

Do you have any travel plans over the holidays?  If so, keep up to date on our forecast.

Chief Meteorologist,

Dean Wysocki