Wet — not white — Christmas possible Thursday

Dreams of a white Christmas Eve were dashed when the National Weather Service’s canceled a winter weather advisory on Wednesday, and though there likely won’t be snow, Christmas Day has a chance to see some precipitation.

Thursday is expected to be partly sunny with a high temperature around 40 degrees, according to the weather service. Christmas night will be partly cloudy with lows in the lower to mid-30s and slight winds.

Friday will be partly sunny with highs in the mid-40s and a slight chance of light rain or drizzle in the evening.

Saturday is expected to be mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of light rain or snow. The highs will only reach the mid- to upper 30s.

On Tuesday, American Airlines prepared for the winter storm by offering travelers a penalty-free way to change their Christmas Eve reservations to or from nine airports, including Chicago’s O’Hare International.

Customers ticketed on American Airlines, American Eagle, US Airways or US Airways Express flights on Wednesday will be allowed to change flights without penalty and have the ticket re-issue charge for one ticket change waived.

But they were limited to changing their reservations to as early as Dec. 23 or as late as Dec. 25. Customers are asked to call American Airlines Reservations at 1-800-433-7300 to make the changes.

Flights to or from the following airports were part of the American penalty-free deal: O’Hare (ORD); Urbana-Champaign (CMI); Bloomington-Normal (BMI); Springfield (SPI); Peoria (PIA); Milwaukee (MKE); St. Louis (STL); Grand Rapids (GRR); and Detroit (DTW).

US Airways flights can be changed online at usairways.com/manageyourtrip or by calling 1-800-428-4322.

American’s last such penalty-free change option was offered when a storm hit the northeast on Thanksgiving weekend, American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott said.

Chicago area travelers were urged to monitor weather reports for updates on Christmas Eve and Christmas.