6:30 AM | **Rainy, windy, and unseasonably mild today...turning sharply colder tonight following the passage of a strong cold front**

6-Day forecast for the Philadelphia, PA metro region

Today

Mainly cloudy, becoming very windy and unseasonably mild, rain, heavy at times, there can be a thunderstorm or two, highs in the low-to-mid 60’s; S winds around 10-20 mph; gusts to 35 mph

Tonight

Mainly cloudy, very windy, and still mild during the early evening hours with lingering rain showers, turning sharply colder during the late evening and overnight hours, continued windy with brief period of snow possible, late night lows in the upper 20’s

Thursday

Mainly sunny, windy, quite cold, middle 30’s for afternoon highs with much lower wind chills

Thursday Night             

Mainly clear, very cold, upper teens for late night lows

Friday

Mainly sunny, still quite cold, mid-to-upper 30’s

Saturday

Partly sunny, not as cold, lower 40’s

Sunday

Mainly cloudy, a bit milder, chance of rain, upper 40’s

Monday

Partly sunny, chilly, upper 40’s  

Discussion

The combination of an intensifying surface low pressure system, a strong cold front, and a deepening upper-level trough will result in the biggest rain event around here since early June. Rainfall amounts by later tonight can exceed 2 inches all along the I-95 corridor and a few thunderstorms can mix into the picture as well.  In addition to the rain, the winds will become an important factor; especially, along coastal sections where a low-level jet is going to become quite intense by later today and early tonight. The passage of the strong cold front later this evening will result in another cold blast for the region with temperatures on Thursday and Friday well below-normal for this time of year. One final note, as the initial burst of cold air pours into the Mid-Atlantic region on Wednesday evening, there can be a brief period of snow and small accumulations cannot be ruled out in some of the N/W suburbs.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield Weather