Smooth traveling weather expected for much of US

The Christmas weekend is expected to start with benign weather and smooth traveling across much of the country, except for some mountainous parts of the Northeast and Southwest.

The National Weather Service says higher elevations in New York state and New England could get 3 to 6 inches of snow Thursday night and into Friday.

The rest of the East down to the Carolinas can expect rain into midday Friday. Rain and thunderstorms are expected along the Gulf Coast.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for much of New Mexico, with as much as a foot of snow in the mountains before it tapers off Friday.