Wind chill, sunshine in the Philadelphia weather forecast Thursday; snow chances Friday
Grab the sunglasses and extra layers for Thursday. It will be mostly sunny and cool with temperatures in the mid to upper 40s, with a wind chill making it feel noticeably colder.
At the warmest point of the day it wil still feel like the mid or upper 30s at best.
Late in the day, clouds increase ahead of the next storm Friday evening into Friday night, which carries potential for snow.
Who sees snow in Philadelphia region on Friday?
Who could see snow, and how much, is difficult to forecast right now. It's likely most of the snow will stay offshore, but we will have to wait a bit longer and see what happens with this possible Norlun trough, the technical term for what we could experience Friday.
Here's the deal: we have a low off the coast of the Carolinas and a newer Arctic-like low over the Great Plains that could interact over our region. If they do, they'll create a band of precipitation that will drop snow. Some of that could even accumulate, especially in higher elevations north and west of Philadelphia, like the Lehigh Valley or Poconos.
This likely won't amount to much snow in the city and points south.
The storm moves out to sea overnight and Saturday morning, the coldest air yet arrives in a bitter blast. Brace for highs in the low 30s on Saturday and the mid to upper 20s on Sunday.
The skies will be mostly sunny on both days. The overnight lows this weekend will be in the teens with Monday morning lows between 10-12 degrees in the city.
If you are headed to Washington, D.C., for the Eagles game, bring heavier winter gear. Despite the sunshine, the highs will hover at or below freezing at kickoff with a breeze making it feel like the teens and 20s.
The deep freeze will continue Monday under sunny skies. By Christmas Eve on Tuesday, the temperatures will start climbing back to the low 40s. There is also a chance of rain showers on Tuesday as a clipper system moves past the region. There are still questions about the track with this storm and if enough cold air remains in place there could be some snow showers or a mix north and west of the city.
At this point, it would take a Christmas miracle for a white Christmas. The National Weather Service's official definition of a white Christmas is 1 inch or more snow on the ground Christmas morning. It doesn't even need to snow on Christmas. The last time Philly had a white Christmas was in 2009.
By Christmas Day on Wednesday, the skies will turn partly cloudy with highs in the low 40s and a chance of showers in the evening. Hanukkah begins Wednesday evening with seasonable temperatures near freezing overnight.
For the first day of Kwanzaa on Thursday, Dec. 26, skies turn mostly cloudy with highs in the low to mid-40s.
7-day forecast
Thursday: High of 47, low of 38, sunny and seasonable
Friday: High of 42, low of 32, p.m. rain/snow shower
Saturday: High of 35, low of 33, mostly sunny
Sunday: High of 28, low of 18, frigid day
Monday: High of 32, low of 12, sunny and cold
Tuesday: High of 40, low of 21, cloudy with a chance of rain
Wednesday: High of 42, low of 30, partly cloudy