Philly Winter Weather Forecast

Some snow expected tonight for Philadelphia . #PAwx   The models are very similar with the track and timing of the storm that will move south of our area and out to sea tomorrow.

Snow will start tonight before before midnight and will essentially be over by about 8 AM for PHL.    Total amounts are expected to be 4-6 inches.   The GFS , as always, has a lower QPF than the NAM model.  (0.25 inches water GFS vs about 0.39 inches water NAM).

It will be a light, fluffy snow and any major error in predicting snowfall totals will likely be a temperature effect on the QPF :snowfall ratio.   The ratio is generally taken as 1:10, but with colder temperatures, higher ratios occur.  With scenarios like this, I think the higher QPF from NAM might be more on-target.

Areas to the south and east will have more snow, areas to the north and west less.

Again, the snow ends by 8AM, so much of the day will just be cloudy.  Sun angles are getting higher this time of year and insolation through clouds may help reduce snow cover on roads even with the “high” temps of 26 expected.

 

Winter Weather Outlook

An uncertain forecast. #PAwx   A shift is expected to occur in the jet stream during this coming week and the models are having a tough time predicting the path of the next storm.

Originally, low pressure was expected to move from the US Southwest to the Atlantic coast and then move up as a nor’easter Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Things have changed and now the storm is expected to move up and straight off the coast to our south Monday night into Tuesday morning, ending late morning Tuesday.   Different timing and different amounts of snow.  The GFS has a QPF of about 0.20 inches water, so 2-4 inches is the best guess.

A low confidence forecast right now.

Weather Update

There have been some shifts in the forecast. This afternoon’s  NAM is again cranking out about 2-3 inches of snow this evening for PHL and the short range HRRR model has even a bit higher totals for central NJ.  The front comes through about 7-8 pm.

Other things that have changed with the forecast-  the cold air doesn’t really get here until dawn on Sunday.   Let’s see what else happens.

Weather… and Other Things 'Up in the Air'