The damp and cloudy weather that greeted holiday shoppers and travelers around the region on Tuesday will not stick around into Wednesday. Christmas Eve looks like a quiet and fairly seasonable day with times of clouds and sunshine. The next round of rain will hold off until well after midnight Wednesday night. 

Thankfully, the overnight rain is not expected to stick around for the bulk of Christmas Day. Thursday will be fairly similar to Wednesday, as we expect some intervals of sunshine, especially around the midday hours. Afternoon temperatures will be a few degrees higher than Wednesday. 

After the holiday, a potent area of low pressure will rack through the lower Great Lakes on Friday. Rain is likely to overspread the area by midday, but temperatures may struggle to get above the 32-degree mark for a time. The highest risk for a period of freezing rain should be in western Pennsylvania; untreated surfaces could turn slick, so motorists should be prepared to take it slow.

After a tranquil Saturday, rain showers should return on Sunday. A sharply colder air mass looks to return Sunday night into Monday, and the year should close out on a cold note next week.