Frigid Temps Now, Potentially More Snow Later
By Kate Bilo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Scattered snow squalls are crossing the area this afternoon as arctic air moves in and winds will signify the arrival of that cold. Winds this evening will gust over 30 mph, putting our wind chills in the subzero range - and tomorrow morning, we'll wake up to wind chills that hover around -10. We may even have a shot at a record here in Philadelphia, where the previous record low for February 28th is 9.
After a frigid Friday, temperatures rebound ever so slightly as we welcome in March this weekend, but we will also welcome yet another winter storm, our 15th of the season. Remember back when our nor'easter was developing, we talked about how the European model had an idea and stuck with it consistently for days, and ended up being right? This particular system may be the GFS's storm of the season, as that model has been consistent in showing a colder event with the potential for more snow, and today's afternoon run of the Euro came around to that thinking.
While we are still days away and it's too early to talk snowfall amounts, I think we need to be prepared for the risk for more of a snow event vs. a rain/mix event, at least in Philadelphia and the western suburbs. And if the snowy solution verifies, we are talking well over half a foot in many spots (remember, we need 6" in order to break the record for 2nd snowiest winter). In South Jersey and Delaware, you will have a harder time with mixing, and more ice/sleet is likely.
The precipitation may begin as rain late Sunday night and then change over to snow as the cold wins out Monday morning. The duration of the storm doesn't look quite as long as it did yesterday, but it's likely that both the morning and afternoon commutes on Monday will be impacted by this before it moves out to sea later Monday evening. Behind that, another blast of arctic air to put the cherry on top of a miserable first week of March. We will continue to monitor the latest development of the system as it heads toward the California coast, and keep you posted with any and all new developments.