7:00 AM | ***Heavy rain and strong winds later Thursday/Thursday night...much colder air moves in on Friday***
Paul Dorian
6-Day forecast for the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania metro region
Today
Mainly cloudy early in the day with lingering light rain showers, clearing skies and becoming windy for the mid-day and afternoon hours, cold, highs in the lower 40’s
Tonight
Mainly clear, cold, diminishing winds, lows in the mid-to-upper 20's
Wednesday
Mainly sunny, cold, lower 40’s for highs
Wednesday Night
Becoming mainly cloudy, cold, a shower possible towards daybreak, mid 30’s for late night lows
Thursday
Mainly cloudy, becoming very windy and much milder, periods of rain and some of it can be heavy late and at night, a thunderstorm possible, near 60 degrees; watch for localized flooding at night in poor drainage areas
Friday
Windy and turning colder, becoming partly sunny after early clouds and a possible snow shower, mid 30’s
Saturday
Mainly sunny, very cold, near 30 degrees
Sunday
Mainly sunny, still quite cold, mid 30’s
Discussion
The main weather event this week will be the passage of a strong cold front late Thursday night that will usher in a cold air mass for Christmas Day (Friday). This strong front will be preceded by heavy rain from later Thursday into Thursday night and it’ll turn quite mild on Christmas Eve with late day temperatures flirting with the 60 degree mark in the DC-to-Philly-to-NYC corridor. Winds will become an important factor as well later on Thursday and Thursday night with gusts past 40 mph possible and there can be a thunderstorm mixed in. On the backside of the front, temperatures will drop quickly early Friday, any standing water will freeze, and there can be a brief period of snow and/or sleet after the heavy rain event. The much colder air that arrives on Friday will stick around into the upcoming weekend and temperatures on Saturday will struggle to pass the 30 degree mark for highs.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Perspecta, Inc.
perspectaweather.com