7:00 AM | ****Soaking rain event until early Friday may begin as a wintry mix...Arctic blast arrives on Friday morning...plunging temperatures, strong winds, "flash-freeze" and a burst of snow****

6-Day forecast for the Philadelphia, PA metro region

Today

Mainly cloudy, increasingly windy and turning milder, occasional rain that can begin briefly as a wintry mix this morning, some of the rain can be heavy at times, highs in the mid-to-upper 40’s; E-SE winds increasing to 10-20 mph 

Tonight

Rainy and windy with gusts possible to 45 mph, maybe a thunderstorm, some of the rain can be heavy, temperatures holding steady or rising slightly

Friday

Mainly cloudy and mild early this morning with additional rainfall, maybe even an early day thunderstorm…a powerful Arctic front blasts through the region during the late morning hours and temperatures will drop dramatically during the mid-day and early afternoon hours – perhaps by more than thirty degrees, watch for a quick freeze-up on roadways and a burst of snow can produce a quick coating to an inch or two, very windy with gusts possible to 50 mph

Friday Night             

Partly cloudy, very windy, frigid cold with single digit lows possible by morning

Saturday

Mainly sunny, windy, face-slapping cold with teens likely for afternoon highs

Sunday

Mainly sunny, windy, frigid cold, lower 20’s for afternoon highs

Monday

Mainly sunny, still brisk and very cold, near 30 degrees

Tuesday

Mainly sunny, cold, mid-to-upper 30’s

Discussion              

Rain will become heavy at times today and continue into early Friday morning and there can be a thunderstorm or two mixed into this soaking rain event.  It’ll turn milder today and winds will become increasingly strong pushing in the milder air. A powerful Arctic front will arrive here by mid-to-late morning on Friday and temperatures will drop dramatically on its back side during the mid-day and early afternoon hours – perhaps by more than 30 degrees in a short period of time. Winds will accompany the frontal passage on Friday and can gust up to 50 mph shifting to a W-NW direction following the passage of the frontal system. A quick freeze-up is possible on Friday of any wet spots that remain on roadways from the prior rainfall. A burst of snow is likely immediately behind the frontal passage which can quickly generate a coating to an inch or two - adding to the potential difficulty in overall travel conditions. Temperatures may bottom out in the single digits by early Saturday morning (Christmas Eve) and the frigid weather will continue through Christmas Day (Sunday). Winds will stay quite strong through much of the weekend adding to the suffering of the face-slapping Arctic cold.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield Weather