6:00 AM | ***Howling Arctic winds through tonight...snow showers likely, maybe even a heavier snow squall or two...accumulating snow-to-ice-to-rain later Friday night/Saturday***

6-Day Philly Forecast

Today

Windy and very cold with partial sunshine, snow showers likely, maybe even a heavier snow squall or two which would cause a quick accumulation, gusts up to 45 mph will generate bitter wind chills near zero, highs in the low-to-mid 20’s

Tonight

Partly cloudy, bitter cold, windy with gusts up to 40 mph creating wind chills near zero or below, maybe a snow shower or two, lows near 10 degrees by morning

Friday

Bitter cold start to the day with mostly sunny skies, winds are brisk early, but quite calm by afternoon, low-to-mid 20’s

Friday Night

Becoming cloudy, quite cold, snow likely to develop by midnight and there can be accumulations of 1-2 inches by morning, low 20’s

Saturday

Cloudy, cold, early morning snow changes to a period of sleet and freezing rain and then to plain rain around mid-day, there can be an additional 1-2 inches of accumulations of snow before the changeover for a total of 2-4" during this event, temperatures climb well into the 40’s later in the day

Sunday

Cloudy, mild, but turning colder late in the afternoon, more rain is likely which can change back briefly to snow or sleet late in the day or early at night, mid-to-upper 40's early in the day

Monday

Partly sunny, breezy, quite cold, maybe a snow shower, near 30 degrees

Tuesday

Mainly sunny, still quite cold, low 30’s

Discussion

The Arctic winds will howl today and tonight bringing wind chill values to zero or below at times in much of the I-95 corridor. Actual air temperatures will be confined to the 20’s for highs and there can be snow shower activity at anytime and even a possible heavier snow squall or two that makes it all the way from the Great Lakes to the coastline. Any snow activity could produce a quick accumulation and cause slippery road conditions. Temperatures will likely bottom out early Friday morning in the upper single digits near New York City, not far from 10 degrees in the Philly N and W suburbs, and around 15 degrees in the DC area. In fact, some record low temperatures are likely to fall on Friday in much of the Northeast US. This bitter cold, dense Arctic air mass will then begin to retreat by early Saturday, but not before moisture reaches us from the Midwest and this potential collision of moisture and retreating Arctic air is likely to lead to some snow/ice accumulations in the region before a complete changeover to plain rain takes place around mid-day. Preliminary estimates for accumulations of snow/ice before the changeover to rain are on the order of 2-4 inches with the higher amounts to the north and west. Temperatures could very well then climb well into the 40’s later Saturday after the full retreat of the low-level Arctic air and more rain is likely during the afternoon hours.

The rain will tend to lighten up for awhile during Saturday night, but then it should return on Sunday as a low pressure system develops along the next Arctic front which will approach from the Midwest. Temperatures may actually peak early Sunday in the mid-to-upper 40's, but then colder Arctic air will filter in during the late afternoon/early evening hours and it is possible that there is a brief changeover from rain to sleet and snow in the N and W suburbs. Following the passage of this next Arctic frontal system, the beginning of next week promises to very cold for the middle of December.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian

Vencore, Inc.

vencoreweather.com