6:00 AM | ***A major snowstorm with an Arctic blast; 8-12 inches of snow and single digits by late tonight***
Paul Dorian
6-Day Forecast
Today
Clouds, breezy, very cold with periods of snow developing during the mid-to-late morning hours, temperatures will slowly drop through the day reaching the teens by later this afternoon
Tonight
Snow continues until after midnight with total accumulations on the order of 8-12 inches, windy with considerable blowing and drifting, brutally cold with temperatures dropping into the single digits
Wednesday
Bitter cold with partial sunshine, windy, temperatures hold in the middle teens for highs with below zero wind chills
Wednesday Night
Brutal cold with partly cloudy skies, single digits for lows
Thursday
Mostly cloudy, bitter cold, maybe a few snow showers, near 20
Friday
Partly sunny, still bitter cold, upper teens
Saturday
Mainly cloudy, very cold, but not as harsh, low 30’s
Sunday
Partly sunny, very cold, upper 20’s
Discussion
A classic setup today for a major snowstorm in the I-95 corridor from DC-to-Boston that includes the following atmospheric features: 1) an injection of fresh bitter cold Arctic air 2) strengthening high pressure to the north 3) vigorous upper level short wave rotating around the base of a long wave trough and 4) intensifying low pressure just off the Mid-Atlantic coastline. Snow will develop in the Philly metro region during the mid-to-late morning hours and will intensify noticeably within a couple hours of the start time. Snow this afternoon and evening will fall at a rate of 1-2 inches per hour as temperatures drop from the 20's into the teens. Snow winds down late tonight with total accumulations on the order of 8-12 inches with a similar range down at the Jersey Shore. The lower snowfall accumulation amounts in that 8-12 inch range will occur in areas to the northwest (e.g., Upper Montgomery County) and the higher amounts on the southeast side of the metro region (e.g., South Philly). Temperatures late tonight will bottom out in the single digits and 0 degrees is not out of the question in some spots. Temperatures will only be able to rise to the middle teens on Wednesday with wind chill values below zero at times. This snow will not be the type that brings down power lines as it will become increasingly dry, fluffy and powdery. One final note, many schools will likely be closed on Wednesday given the fact that there will be bitter cold conditions plus the fact that there will be considerable overnight blowing and drifting and, finally, the snow will last well into the night.
Video
httpv://youtu.be/sigo5VMHUhs