Another Pacific storm is expected to pound the West Coast this weekend and could unleash flash flooding , mudslides and debris flows , just a week after similar rains left widespread devastation . Flood watches and winter weather advisories now exist throughout Oregon and Washington state , and a coastal flood advisory will continue through Monday for the San Francisco Bay Shoreline , the National Weather Service said Saturday . In all , a moisture plume from the China Sea across the Pacific could drop between 4 and 6 inches of rain on the coast and as much as 8 inches in Oregon . The Cascades could receive 6 to 10 inches of new snow , and northern California could experience 3 inches of rain . `` These disturbances , along with their surface cold fronts , are forecast to bring heavy rain for the coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest , with some amounts in excess of 4 inches possible by Sunday morning , '' the National Weather Service said . `` Very heavy snow in the higher mountain ranges could reach 1 to 3 feet with copious moisture being forced up the topography . '' As the West Coast front energizes climates across the country , rain and cold could create delays in holiday travel from Tuesday through Wednesday in the Southeast , the Ohio Valley and the Eastern Seaboard 's Interstate 95 corridor , CNN forecasters said . A Christmas Eve storm could strike the Great Lakes basin from Minneapolis to Chicago to Detroit , delivering snow showers and freezing temperatures . The storm would taper off by Christmas Day , said CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis . Landslide anxieties . More than a week ago , storms pummeled the Pacific Coast , killing two people in Oregon when trees fell , knocking homes into the sea in Washington state , burying houses in a California rockslide and even spawning a rare tornado in Los Angeles . Power outages struck hundreds of thousands of customers . The weekend warnings of debris flows conjure up a tragedy in March , when a landslide killed more than 40 people in Oso , Washington , about 60 miles northeast of Seattle . Oregon geologists also expressed concern , especially in areas hit earlier by this year 's wildfires . `` Landslides will be a reality in future major flood events , '' Bill Burns , engineering geologist with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries , told CNN affiliate KATU . `` And because Oregon 's population is growing , more people , places and property may be at risk . '' Holiday travel . The forecast promised a rocky start to next week 's Christmas holiday and was immediately posing problems for early holiday travel . `` There 's such a headwind that I 'm getting terrible gas mileage today , '' Elaine Howard told CNN affiliate KCRA . She drove from Redding , California , on Friday to visit her son in Herald . One upside for travel , though , has been low gasoline prices . The national average on Saturday was $ 2.43 a gallon , the lowest level in five years and 70 cents lower than last year , AAA said . That price could fall as low as $ 2.25 by New Year 's Day , AAA said . At those prices , AAA is projecting 98.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holidays , an increase of 4 % over last year . `` Lower gas prices are filling stockings with a little more cash to spend on travel this year as travelers are expected to pay the lowest prices since 2009 , '' said Marshall L. Doney , AAA president and chief operating officer . Luis Gonzalez told KCRA that such prices were one reason he chose to drive rather than fly his family from Portland , Oregon , to Orange County , California . `` I found the tickets . But it was like $ 1,500 for four people . So I said , 'Eh , I can go back and forth with the gas in my car , ' '' Gonzalez said .
Flood watches and winter weather advisories are now in effect for coastal Oregon . Up to 8 inches of rain could fall on Oregon 's coast . Pacific weather could create cold and rain nationwide , complicating holiday travel . One reason for holiday travel is plummeting gas prices , AAA says .