7:00 AM | **An unsettled Friday and Friday night with rain and/or snow showers...small grassy snow accumulations are possible tonight in some spots**
Paul Dorian
6-Day forecast for the Philadelphia, PA metro region
Today
Mainly cloudy, cold, occasional rain and/or snow showers, maybe even a rumble of thunder, highs in the lower 40’s
Tonight
Mainly cloudy, cold, occasional rain and/or snow showers, small grassy snow accumulations are possible in the suburbs, lows near 30 degrees
Saturday
Partly sunny, quite breezy, cold, mid 40’s for afternoon highs
Saturday Night
Mainly clear, little wind, cold, upper 20’s for late night lows
Sunday
Mainly sunny, milder, mid-to-upper 50’s
Monday
Mainly sunny, warmer, mid 60’s
Tuesday
Mainly cloudy, still warm, chance of showers, lower 60’s
Wednesday
Partly sunny, mild, chance of showers, upper 50’s
Discussion
A strong “clipper” system will drop southeastward into the Mid-Atlantic region today and it’ll feature some rather cold air in the upper part of the atmosphere. At the same time, the southern storm that soaked the southern states in recent days will intensify after it moves out over the open waters of the western Atlantic. In fact, this storm could intensify to a point where it is produces hurricane-force winds by tonight in the western Atlantic. While this ocean storm will be situated well off the east coast, it’ll still have an influence in the Mid-Atlantic region as an inverted trough (aka “norlun” trough) will extend from the low pressure center all the way back to the Mid-Atlantic. The combination of the “clipper” system and the inverted trough associated with the ocean storm is going to lead to rain and/or snow showers in the Philly metro region later today and tonight. In some “norlun” trough scenarios, small-scale heavier bands of precipitation can form and we’ll have to closely monitor that possibility later today and tonight; especially, across eastern PA, NJ and the Delmarva Peninsula. Following today’s mess, the weekend will start off on the chilly and dry side, but a major warm up will take place early next week. In fact, the weather on Monday should feature sunshine and warmth with temperatures well up in the 60’s for afternoon highs.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Perspecta, Inc.
perspectaweather.com