What to Know
- After a storm brought heavy rain and some thunderstorms Wednesday night into early Thursday and kept us damp through much of Thursday, the cold and blustery air it ushered in brought the first snowflakes of the season to many neighborhoods in Pennsylvania.
- Hardest hit were the higher elevations in the Poconos, where a winter storm warning is in effect as heavy snow and gusty winds are expected to lead to travel troubles and possible power outages.
- Some of the snow did stick to grass and colder surfaces in the Lehigh Valley and northernmost Pennsylvania suburbs. However, in Philadelphia, South Jersey and surrounding communities, any snow that fell melted as it hit the ground.
- Be sure to have the most up-to-date version of the NBC10 app downloaded to your advice to get weather updates and track the wet weather with our live radar.
After some much-needed November Rain drenched the Philadelphia region, we saw another round of wet weather, this one bringing rain, snow and blustery winds on Friday.
Inches of snow were expected to stick in the Pocono Mountains where a winter storm warning for difficult driving conditions was in effect beginning at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Meanwhile, folks in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs won't need their snow shovels Friday.
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No matter where you are, temps are chilly for the rest of Friday, not getting out of the 40s and feeling even colder thanks to blustery wind gusts. Those gusty conditions then stick around into the weekend, but the wet weather will not.
This weather change is definitely a shock to the system after weeks of mostly mild, sunny and dry fall weather in the Delaware Valley. So grab your jackets and stay tuned with the First Alert Weather Team on air and in our NBC10 app for the most up-to-date forecasts and any alerts.
Weather Stories
❄️First snowflakes for many, but did it stick?
Bands of precipitation began moving back in Friday. That led to the first snow of the season in parts of the region and some of that snow sticking in the Poconos and possibly some parts of the Lehigh Valley.
Snow is expected to keep falling through Friday in the Poconos. Some of that precipitation reached into the Lehigh Valley and surrounding communities before daybreak Friday and continued during the day as temps stayed in the 30s.
In Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs the precipitation in the form of some very light snowflakes arrived in the morning. More wet weather continued into Friday afternoon. Temps were above freezing so we mostly just saw rain, but there was some snow mixing in.
How much snow will fall in Pennsylvania?
The Pocono Mountains saw snow falling through Friday, delivering 5 to 10 inches in the highest elevations where winter storm warnings were in effect Friday. While many roads are only partially covered during the morning, conditions could worsen throughout the day as snowfall continues.
Hours of falling snow in the Lehigh Valley in the western suburbs should largely be melting away as the snowflakes hit the ground. Drivers can expect the roads to remain in good shape, mostly, but be prepared to drive slower.
Near Philadelphia, Delaware and South Jersey, the storm was primarily a rain event with occasional snowflakes melting on contact. Highs stayed in the upper 30s to near 40 degrees, with gusty winds making it feel like freezing.
We don't expect to see any major travel issues in the Philadelphia region from this storm. However, if you're heading north, a winter storm warning is in effect for the Poconos and points north, leading to trouble on the roads. So, if you are heading to the mountains you may want to wait until the weekend.
Good news, all the wet weather will come to an end Friday night and the weekend will bring sunshine, but it will be blustery.
How much snow did we see?
The majority of our region closer to the city of Philadelphia didn't see much snow at all, but further north and west saw the snow stick to the ground.
- Mt. Pocono: 13.1 inches
- Lake Harmony: 9.5 inches
- West Caln Township: 1.3 inches
- Philadelphia International Airport: trace
- New Castle Airport: trace
- Trenton Airport: trace
Winds keep blowing into weekend
Gusty winds will blow on Friday -- with gusts in some places exceeding 30 mph.
Expect gusty winds on Saturday and quite chilly conditions for Philadelphia’s half marathon.
Sunday will be less windy, but still chilly for the full AACR Philadelphia marathon. Sunday morning temps start in the 40s with temperatures rebounding to the mid-to-upper 50s in the afternoon.
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