Weather: A Developing Nor'easter Will Impact The Area Over The Next Couple Of Days
By Steven Strouss
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A developing Nor'easter will impact the area over the next couple of days with heavy rain, gusty winds and even snow for parts of the Delaware Valley. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for Carbon and Monroe counties where up to 6" of snow will accumulate before mixing with sleet and rain during the day on Tuesday. In the Lehigh Valley, a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for a wintry mix that will change to rain. A Flood Watch is in effect for Philadelphia and surrounding counties because 2-3" of rain may cause some streams and creeks to rise above their banks.
The storm that will bring this mess is now forming off the Carolina coast and will intensify overnight. Northeast winds will increase as the storm is being blocked by an area of high pressure over New England. Because of the prolonged duration of onshore winds and rain, a Coastal Flood Warning has been issued for eastern counties of New Jersey and Delaware on Tuesday. Tidal flooding is expected to occur with each high tide cycle and additional impacts at the shore include; rough surf, beach erosion, gusty NE winds (up to 45 mph) and of course heavy rain (up to 3″).
Farther inland, including the city of Philadelphia, we expect winds to gust to 35 mph. There will also be periods of heavy rain, especially during the morning hours and poor drainage flooding is expected. The steady rain will taper Tuesday afternoon as the system lifts north but colder air will filter in behind the storm and could bring blustery snow showers to much of the region on Wednesday. The storm will linger through much of the week so it will remain chilly with mostly cloudy skies through Thursday.
The good news is that by the weekend temperatures will moderate and the sunshine will return.
