For many Americans nationwide, it is tradition to travel to be with friends and loved ones. Whether it's by car, train, or flight, people tend to go across the state, country, or even the world to celebrate the holiday season.

The Christmas holiday is a peak travel season. While some folks choose to leave the week before Christmas, many make their departure plans days before the holiday.

Unfortunately, this year, that is going to be a problem. Already, news of winter storms either present (in some parts of the country) or already here, is leading to massive cancellations in transportation services.

What to expect during this Christmas travel season

Across the United States, travelers who looked forward to spending Christmas with loved ones are running into problems. Data from Flight Aware reports 1,908 cancelled US flights today. On top of that, 4,522 flights in the US have been delayed.

Air travelers are not the only ones running into complications. Even Amtrak is now suspending some of its services in, through, or to areas expected to bear the brunt of nasty winter storms.

Yesterday, Amtrak released a news alert, thereby revealing the termination of train services in the Midwest and across country, due to inclement weather. Amtrak also revealed its decision was made after convening with state transportation departments, weather forecasters, and other officials.

The winter storms arriving and to come are so terrible that multiple US airlines already took the liberty of giving passengers travel waivers. These waivers will allow passengers to reschedule their flights once the weather permits travel.

What Americans should know going forward

Like this year, the 2021 Christmas travel season also saw significant delays and cancellations of travel services, owing to winter storms. However, this does not mean people have to be completely helpless to the whims of the weather.

The days leading up to Christmas serve as the most frequent time period for travelers to get on the road or in the air. However, it may advisable for travelers to consider leaving a little earlier.

This does not guarantee that one will never run into inclement weather issues while traveling. However, it can potentially reduce the risk of running into travel-related problems.

Even outside of nasty weather, the Christmas holiday season remains notorious for packed airports, long TSA lines, and other things best avoided.