Snow expected around evening rush hour in Philly
Accumulations are expected to be modest. Arctic chill coming on the heels of the snow is of greater concern.
Snow is now expected to start falling in Philadelphia around Tuesday’s evening rush hour, according to the latest National Weather Service projections.
But before that happens, the rain must fall.
While there is a slight chance of some snow earlier in the day, rain will predominate through the afternoon with the turnover to snow occurring around 6 p.m., the weather services hourly forecast predicts.
A winter weather advisory has been issued for Southeastern Pennsylvania starting at 4 p.m. and running until midnight.
With light snow falling north and west of the city by late morning, a number of schools and school districts, including Upper Merion, announced early dismissals.
Accumulation projections remain modest for the immediate Philadelphia area, ranging from less than an inch in South Jersey to three inches in western Chester County.
In New Jersey, where up to five inches of snow is expected in the northwest corner of the state, Gov. Phil Murphy ordered a rolling shutdown of the state government started at 1:30 p.m., as “the storm will impact different parts of the state at different times and in different ways,” @NJGov tweeted.
Of greater concern is the arrival in the area Wednesday afternoon of the arctic front that has turned Midwest into a polar suburb.
While it will not be as bad here as it is in Chicago, thanks to the moderating effect of the Appalachian Mountains, overnight temperatures will be in the single digits and the high on Thursday will struggle to break the mid-teens. Wind chills will be below zero.
Some snow showers and squalls are possible.
Anticipating harsh conditions, the city on Monday declared a “code blue” until further notice. Outreach teams were deployed to get people experiencing homelessness into shelters.
Sub-freezing temperatures are car-battery killers and the AAA Mid-Atlantic is advising motorists to have any car batteries more than three years old checked out. Last week, when the region was hit by a deep freeze, more than 50 percent of the emergency calls to the AAA Mid-Atlantic were for dead batteries.
Come Friday, after a night with a low temperature around 10 degrees, it will be mostly cloudy with a high around 24.
» READ MORE: What’s global warming got to do with this week’s frigid weather?
The sun will shine over the weekend with projected highs of 31 degrees Saturday and 42 on Sunday.
There is a chance of rain and snow Monday with a projected high of 50.