6:15 AM | ****An icy mess tonight into early Thursday with snow, sleet and freezing rain...slippery spots for the Thursday AM commute****

6-Day forecast for the Philadelphia, PA metro region

Today

Mainly cloudy, cold, chance of a snow shower or two possibly mixed with sleet, highs in the middle 30’s; N-NW winds around 5 mph

Tonight

Snow changes to sleet and this can last for an extended period of time, freezing rain is likely late, watch for slippery spots, cold, lows in the mid-to-upper 20’s

Thursday

Mainly cloudy, cold, freezing rain and sleet changes to plain rain by late in the morning; watch for slippery spots during the AM commute, near 40 degrees for highs late in the day

Thursday Night             

Mainly cloudy, cold, a bit of rain or drizzle possible, lows in the low-to-mid 30’s

Friday

Mainly sunny, windy, colder, near 40 degrees

Saturday

Becoming mainly cloudy, cold, chance of snow in the afternoon, mid-to-upper 30’s; snow, sleet and/or freezing rain at night

Sunday

Mainly cloudy early in the day with the chance of rain or freezing rain changing to rain, partly sunny in the afternoon, low-to-mid 40’s

Monday

Partly sunny, breezy, cold, slight chance of snow, mid-to-upper 30’s

Discussion

A fresh, cold and dry air mass pushed into the region last night following the passage of a cold frontal system. This air mass is being anchored today by strong high pressure over New England and it helps to set the stage for plenty of frozen precipitation around here from later this evening into early Tuesday. As moisture first arrives, it’ll likely be cold enough for snow, but then a thin layer of above-freezing air will push in aloft and result in a changeover of the precipitation to sleet which may last for an extended period of time during the overnight hours. By late tonight, the sleet may mix with or change to rain and with ground temperatures at or below freezing, any rain that falls will freeze on untreated surfaces. In fact, temperatures will be reluctant to climb above freezing for most of the morning on Thursday; especially, across the N/W suburbs. Bottom line...Thursday AM commute can be quite a mess with slippery road conditions possible throughout the region. A repeat performance is likely this Saturday and Saturday night with a ”snow-to-sleet-to-freezing rain-to-plain rain” scenario on the table. Looking ahead, accumulating snow is likely to threaten the Mid-Atlantic region during the early-to-middle part of next week.

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield Weather