After another in a flurry of nuisance snowfalls in the Philly region, a more significant storm may end up being the wild card on Sunday when the Eagles host the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
A steady light snow that developed early Thursday afternoon and continued into the night iced some roads, with accumulations of 0.5 to 1.5 inches reported generally across the region. .
A crash forced the closing of a portion of Route 30 in a rural area of Chester County, although it was uncertain whether the incident was weather-related, said Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesperson Brad Rudolph.
Temperatures will moderate Friday and Saturday, climbing into the 40s. But then the region may experience its strongest dose of January in several years, with accumulating snow possible Sunday and a cold spell chilled by cross-polar air direct from Siberia, where the world is your freezer.
On Monday, Martin Luther King Day, temperatures are forecast to get no higher than the mid-20s around here, and in the nation’s capital, the National Weather Service is predicting it will be 22 degrees when Donald Trump takes the oath of office on what would be the coldest presidential Inauguration Day in 40 years.
It is at least possible that some places outside Philly will hit zero degrees next week, said Brandon Buckingham, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. Sunday marks the 31st anniversary of the last time the temperature reached zero at Philadelphia International Airport.
A snow cover would increase the chances of reaching zero, said Paul Fitzsimmons, a lead meteorologist at the weather service’s Mount Holly office. Any heat absorbed by the snow rapidly radiates into space after sunset when the winds are light and the sky is clear, conditions expected early Tuesday and Wednesday.
How much snow fell in the Philadelphia region Thursday?
Not much, but that has been the norm in recent snowfalls.
Officially, prior to Thursday, Philadelphia had already had four snowfalls of 0.3 inches or less, along with three “traces.”
The highest amount posted Thursday by the weather service was 1.8 inches, in East Nantmeal Township, Chester County.
Will it snow during the Eagles game on Sunday?
It is looking more likely, and the weather service has listed the snow probability at 60%.
“Accumulations are definitely on the table,” said Paul Dorian, a meteorologist with Arcfield Weather.
The weather service’s early call was for snow probably starting in the early afternoon, with something on the order of 2 to 4 inches by early evening when the game ends. But that is likely to undergo several changes before kickoff time, and it is possible that snow would continue into the night.
It won’t be Buffalo — a meta-storm is unlikely and we’re about 350 miles from the “lake effect” snow zone — but it won’t be Southern California either. Temperatures are expected to be in the 30s, likely falling if it starts to snow.
The Arctic front that will be the advance of the so-called Siberian express air mass is expected to touch off a coastal storm. It remained unclear how much, if any, snow it would generate.
The more recent computer model runs on Thursday showed a somewhat stronger storm, said the weather service’s Fitzsimmons. One model had the storm following a track that would result in more rain than snow in Philly, he said.
The computer waffling is “evident,” Buckingham said. “We still need to see a bit further model guidance.”
How cold will it get next week in the Philly region?
Very.
The weather service forecast is calling for at least four consecutive days with average daily temperatures under 20, something that has not happened in Philadelphia in eight years.
Single-digit lows even in the city are expected Tuesday and Wednesday mornings with wind chills below zero, and daytime temperatures in the teens.
The weather service warns that the cold could endanger water pipes and stress heating systems.
And not a bad time to check the status of your car battery.
Are any more snow threats on the horizon?
Threats, yes. Actual snow? We’ll see.
“We’ll be keeping a close eye around midweek,” Buckingham said.
Yet another virtual snow threat for late next week has been getting some buzz. Buckingham, however, suggests waiting until you see the whites of the flakes.
A southern storm track will be active, he said, but that dry Siberian air mass may keep it suppressed.
“It’s tough to determine if any of that storm track will curl up the East Coast or just slide its way off with minimal impacts.”
Or maybe yet another 0.3 inches.
Source: www.inquirer.com…