What to Know
- Some light -- maybe even what some might consider festive -- snow is falling on the Philadelphia region on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, and will last through the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
- With temps hovering above freezing in most places, not much of the snow is sticking and some places got mostly chilly rain. Philadelphia and the immediate communities saw a rain/snow mix through the afternoon.
- Once the storm moves out, frigid conditions take over this weekend. By Sunday morning it should be feeling around zero.
Keep that umbrella handy Friday as a wintry mix of light snow and cold rain is falling throughout the region. However, for most people in the Philadelphia region, the snow shovels can stay packed away, for now.
The First Alert Weather Team is tracking a weakening clipper system and coastal low that could, however, bring up to a few inches of snow to the Lehigh Valley and high elevations of the Pennsylvania suburbs.
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Here's a breakdown of what to expect:
Light snow and chilly rain
It's been a chilly, damp and dreary Friday as a mix of rain and snow continues to move through our area.
A weakening clipper system from the Midwest transferred its energy to low pressure offshore, bringing rain into Delaware and South Jersey. Cold rain fell with temperatures in the 30s and 40s into the afternoon.
In Philadelphia, the atmosphere is slightly colder and a rain-snow mix moved in during the afternoon. However, with surface temperatures above freezing (upper 30s to low 40s), the snowflakes are melting on contact.
"Most of the snow falling will be melting," First Alert Weather meteorologist Bill Henley said.
For the Lehigh Valley and northern and western suburbs, snow showers developed Friday morning, with intermittent snow in the afternoon. Here too, surface temperatures above freezing caused most daytime snowflakes to melt.
This system will linger into Friday evening, and as temperatures cool, light snow accumulation becomes possible.
The last few snow showers will end early Saturday morning.
Roads in Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburbs and northern Delaware should remain fine, but colder surfaces like grass and sidewalks north and west of the city might see some light accumulation.
That's right, in colder suburbs and the Lehigh Valley you could be waking up to a slushy mix and even some snow on grass and colder surfaces when you wake up Saturday.
Where is it most likely to see snow on the ground? When might snow fall?
Accumulations are most likely on colder surfaces like grass, cars, and sidewalks. with 1 2 inches possible in the Lehigh Valley. In the PA Suburbs and South Jersey, expect more of a slushy mix than significant accumulation.
Lehigh Valley, colder neighborhoods in higher elevations: Up to 1 to 2 inches of snow. Temperatures near or just above freezing will limit how much snow accumulates on roadways during Friday afternoon.
Philadelphia, surrounding communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey: Expect more of a slushy mix than significant accumulation. Some spots in New Jersey could get over an inch, however.
Jersey Shore: Mostly just chilly rain is expected.
Be ready to bundle up after the storm?
By the weekend, the system will move out just in time for the winter solstice at 4:20 a.m. Saturday.
It will feel like winter all weekend, with gusty winds on Saturday making highs in the 30s feel like the teens and low 20s.
Sunday will be even colder, though with less wind. Morning temperatures will drop into the teens, with highs only reaching the 20s in the afternoon.
It could be feeling like zero (or colder) Sunday morning in some parts of eastern Pennsylvania.
So, get ready to bundle up!
As always, be sure to have the latest version of the NBC10 app downloaded to your phone and keep checking back with NBC10 on air for the latest weather forecast.
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