Seasonable fall weather continues in Philadelphia region, warming up by the weekend; latest on Hurricane Milton
A beautiful, seasonable October stretch is underway in the Philadelphia area this week with seasonably mild temperatures again on Wednesday, followed by a reinforcing shot of cool air Wednesday night.
Thursday and Friday will likely stay in the 60s with morning lows in the 40s! As of now, Friday morning looks to be the chilliest of the week, and then we rebound into the 70s by the weekend.
Speaking of lows in the 40s, the average first occurrence of lows in the 40s in Philly is Sept. 30. We are behind schedule but nowhere near the record latest first occurrence, which is Oct. 20.
The main weather story across the nation is Hurricane Milton. Milton remains a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane with winds sustained at 160 mph, gusting to 200!!! Milton's wind speeds reached 180 mph at one point, on par with storms like Irma, Rita and Mitch.
Milton did temporarily weaken a bit to a Category 4, but it is expected to keep fluctuating in strength over the next 24 hours or so. Milton may weaken once it approaches the west coast of Florida later on Wednesday evening. The current track has Milton making landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning as a Category 4 or possibly strong Category 3 hurricane right over the city of Tampa, which would make it the strongest hurricane to directly make landfall in that area in over a century.
Storm surge flooding is now expected to reach 10 to 15 feet in some areas, including the Tampa Bay region, meaning homes that have already been gutted from Helene's flooding will likely be inundated once again. In addition, the storm surge flooding from Helene wiped out barrier islands and destroyed beaches, meaning the area is less protected from Milton's surge. This would be a cataclysmic event for the Tampa area with storm surge flooding reaching the second story of homes and businesses.
In addition to the storm surge, which is the most dangerous facet of the storm, winds may gust well over 150 mph at landfall, which will serve to scatter the debris piles from Helene all across the region. Some spots in northern Florida could receive upwards of half a foot of rain from Milton as well.
As always, the NEXT Weather Team will keep you and your family ahead of the storm and alert you to any potential impacts.
As of Tuesday night, our area is not expected to feel any impact from Milton, but if you have friends or family in that area, please urge them to follow the evacuation warnings as this potentially once-in-a-lifetime hurricane bears down on the area.
Here's your 7-day forecast:
Wednesday: Beautiful fall day. High 70, Low 48.
Thursday: Cool! Some sun. High 64, Low 48.
Friday: Mostly sunny. High 69, Low 44.
Saturday: Sunny, warmer. High 75, Low 53.
Sunday: Gorgeous day! High 72, Low 51.
Monday: Cooling down. High 63, Low 55.
Tuesday: Sunny. High 62.
