Another snowstorm on track for Sunday

Another winter storm, predicted to arrive early Sunday, is likely to deliver 4 to 6 inches of snow in the Philadelphia region, with higher totals possible in the suburbs, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

Philadelphia Managing Director Tumar Alexander said the city will declare a snow emergency, beginning Sunday at 6 a.m.

Snowfall was expected to begin around 3 or 4 a.m. and pick up in intensity sometime after 6 or 7, falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches an hour, before tapering off Sunday late afternoon or early evening, said meteorologist Trent Davis.

That means it should be over by 6:30 p.m. kickoff for Super Bowl LV between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Overall Sunday doesn’t look like a good day to be out on the roads,” Davis said, adding that the storm could shape up as “weak nor’easter,” although “it won’t be anywhere near as intense as what we saw last week.”

Depending on how Sunday unfolds, the storm could disrupt the Philadelphia School District’s plans to bring back about 2,000 teachers Monday in preparation for a Feb. 22 reopening for 9,000 students — prekindergarten through second grade — after nearly a year of remote instruction because of COVID-19.

The storm is expected to dump heavy, wet snow at a time when people are still nursing sore backs from shoveling out from last week’s significant blanketing.

“The snow will be pretty heavy, so take precautions,” Davis said. “If you get exhausted, take breaks and know that you can overexert without really realizing it initially.”

Davis said that those who need to travel to work or school Monday should give themselves extra commute time.

“There could be refreezing of the roadways and sidewalks overnight on Sunday as temperatures drop right around 30 to 32 degrees,” Trent said.

Under the city’s snow emergency, all parked cars must be moved off main arteries for plowing. Also, drivers should not park too close to corners so snowplows can turn onto streets. Snow emergency routes with parking restrictions can be found here: https://www.philadelphiastreets.com/highways/snow/emergency-routes.

“Crews will continue snow operations until all conditions are safe for travel,” Alexander said Saturday in a statement. “However, this storm is expected to bring heavy snow and high winds. Residents should be mindful of fallen tree limbs and possible power and signal outages.”

The city’s Streets Department will deploy more than 400 pieces of snow-removal equipment, with 35,000 tons of salt on hand. Sanitation crews will collect trash as scheduled Monday, but expect delays, Alexander said.

The National Weather Service forecast says areas closest to I-95 will see mostly snow, but possibly rain at times farther into South Jersey. Closer to the coast will see a mix of snow and rain, with snowfall under two inches. But areas northwest of I-95 should see nearly all snow.

Here’s the rest of the forecast for Philadelphia:

Sunday night — Partly cloudy; low around 18.

Monday — Sunny with a high near 30.

Monday night — Mostly cloudy; low around 21.

Tuesday — Chance of snow before 9 a.m. Chance of snow and sleet between 9 and 10 a.m., then a chance of rain after 10 a.m. High near 42.