Philadelphia weather: Calmest week in a while, but "Clipper" could bring snow Wednesday
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sunday's rain will give the Philadelphia area a soggy start to the week, but overall, the week ahead looks to be one of the calmest stretches of weather the region has had in quite some time. Monday morning will still be damp after Sunday's rain
The pattern lately has brought at least one fairly significant storm system every week. The trend has kept the stretches of days without measurable precipitation to a minimum. The last time the Philadelphia area went more than five days in a row without picking up on at least a trace of rainfall was way back in the middle of November.
While this week won't be completely benign, it will be one of the calmest and driest weeks the Philadelphia area has had in a while.
Monday will still be a little damp as the area dries out after the downright soggy Sunday. Most places across the region picked up around one inch of rain, adding to what has already been an excessively wet January. Philadelphia International Airport has picked up nearly six inches of rain this month, running over three inches in the surplus for January.
While the rain won't threaten the region on Monday, the sky will remain mostly cloudy through the day with only a few peeks of sunshine possible. Meanwhile, temperatures will climb into the low-middle 40s with a breezy northwesterly wind keeping feels-like temperatures in the upper 30s through the afternoon.
Temperatures Monday night will sink back below freezing with lows in the upper 20s to near 30 degrees around the region before bouncing back to near 40 degrees Tuesday afternoon.
A fast-moving and relatively moisture-starved Alberta "Clipper" low-pressure system will track southeast across the Great Lakes States on Tuesday and approach the Philadelphia area Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Alberta Clipper systems typically move fairly quickly and have limited moisture to work with, and this system is no different.
An Alberta Clipper, by the way, is defined as a fast-moving low-pressure system that moves southeast out of the Canadian Province Alberta (southwest Canada) through the Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes region, usually during the winter. Light snow, gusty winds and colder temperatures usually accompany these low-pressure areas. Another variation of the same system is called a "Saskatchewan Screamer."
Recent forecast models show that this system will track south of our area as the associated precipitation dissipates and will likely only spread a little extra cloud cover overhead Tuesday night into the first half of the day on Wednesday. At this point, there will be a very small chance for any precipitation, but if something does fall, it could be a light rain, and then possibly some snow showers through Wednesday morning. If any snow does fall, accumulations are not expected.
Aside from this relatively weak Clipper system, the only other thing worth watching this upcoming week will be a late-week cold front that looks to sweep through the region Friday. Moisture associated with this system looks to be minimal as well, and the chance of any type of precipitation will be slim to none.
Ahead of this cold front Friday, daytime temperatures will rise back into the upper 40s Thursday and Friday afternoon, but after the cold front moves through, highs will be knocked back down to near 40 degrees.
Regardless, after a very active weather pattern for most of January, it looks like the final few days of the month and the start of February will be relatively calm.
Here's your 7-day forecast:
Monday: Mostly cloudy. High 44, Low 36
Tuesday: Seasonable. High 41, Low 30
Wednesday: AM snow flurry possible. High 42, Low 31
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High 49, Low 31
Friday: Partly cloudy. High 48, Low 36
Saturday: A touch cooler. High 41, Low 27
Sunday: Mostly sunny. High 42, Low 26
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