7:00 AM | **Very windy and cold today...snow late tonight/early Thursday could cause slippery spots**
Paul Dorian
6-Day Philadelphia Forecast
Today
Very windy and cold today despite plenty of sunshine, winds could gust to 40 mph, temperatures will struggle to reach the freezing mark for highs and wind chills will be considerably lower (normal high is now 46 degrees at PHL)
Tonight
Becoming mainly cloudy with snow likely after midnight, some slippery spots are likely late, quite cold, lows by morning in the low-to-mid 20's
Thursday
Mainly cloudy early with snow still possible, total snow accumulations on the order of a dusting to an inch or two, some slippery spots are likely early, becoming partly sunny during the afternoon, breezy, cold, low-to-mid 30's or afternoon highs
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, very cold, lows near 20 degrees by morning
Friday
Mainly cloudy, cold, chance of snow showers, near 30 degrees for highs
Saturday
Mainly sunny, cold, mid 30’s
Sunday
Partly sunny, chilly, low 40’s
Monday
Partly sunny, chilly, chance of showers, mid 40’s
Discussion
An Arctic air mass has plunged into the Mid-Atlantic region and today will be very windy and cold for the middle of December. Temperatures will struggle to reach the freezing mark and wind chill values will be considerably lower given the NW wind gusts up to 40 mph. A "clipper" low pressure system will drop southeastward across the northern Ohio Valley today and move across Pennsylvania late tonight and early tomorrow. As a result, snow is likely to break out around here after midnight and continue into early tomorrow with small accumulations of a dusting to an inch or two. Slippery roads are likely late tonight and early tomorrow despite receiving only minor accumulations. Surface-level conditions are very cold right now in this Arctic air mass - unlike the overall setup experienced this past weekend with our first snowfall. Therefore, untreated roads could get slippery in a hurry with any snow that falls. The late week threat for snow has decreased as it appears that the next couple of waves of energy in the northern branch of the jet stream will likely not consolidate in time to produce snow around here.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Vencore, Inc.
vencoreweather.com