Winter storm hysteria has hit again in Philadelphia for the 2014-2015 winter season. From Hurricane Schwartz’s “shhhtorm alert” to Cecily Tinan’s “tracking the storm track”, you can hear the hysteria and sensationalism building for this “weather event”.
It’s going to be a coastal low. Much of the storm will be RAIN in and around Philadephia for much of the day. As always, the far northwest areas, near Allentown and Reading may have an earlier changeover to snow, although the amount of precipitation will be less there.
But this blog focuses on Philadelphia and its immediate suburbs. In this area, it will start as rain, likely heavy, until at about 2 PM, according to current models. It wil start mixing with and changing to snow after 2-3 PM, but temperatures at the surface will not be sinking below freezing until a bit later. This changeover will be occuring just as the precipitation will be tapering down.
With temps just approaching freezing at the surface, the very wet surfaces from the earier rain, and the intensity of precipitation winding down, expect a wet mix mix of about 1 inch by rush hour.
The real issue will be possible icy conditions after 7 PM.
In terms of accumulating snow totals, this is not going to be a big deal in Philadelphia. It’s very bad timing for the many people on the roads for the Thanksgiving holiday. In terms of bad travel conditions, this will be significant. In terms of accumulating snow for Philadelphia, this storm is being hyped right now.
