Up to 2 inches of snow now expected

Snow has arrived, with some areas north and west of the city reporting a coating already.

Some rain was falling in New Jersey, but the changeover line was pushing eastward, and most the region will see snow by the early-morning hours.

The National Weather Service has backed off subtly on amounts and is now calling for a general 1 to 2 inches, rather than 1 to 3, and more likely to cover the grass than blacktop. Temperatures were still above freezing everywhere, even at Coatesville and Doylestown, where it was snowing.

The accumulating snow was expected to be over by midmorning, but another round of Saturday night could leave an additional, small accumulation.

Another change in the forecast is that the precipitation now appears as though it will be mostly snow in the immediate Philadelphia area as temperatures should be a touch colder than expected earlier.

However, it also appears that the forecast for the total precipitation amounts has been shaved slightly.

In any event, expect a dose of what we haven't had much the last few months -- actual winter.

No further snow is in the forecast into the middle of next week.

Sunday and Monday will be colder, with highs in the low 30s, and lows in the low to mid 20s.

Temperature will warm into the 40s Tuesday and Wednesday, possibly reaching 50 Thursday.

For more on the forecast, go to http://go.philly.com/weather.

For more weather discussion, see Tony Wood's "Weather or Not" blog at www.philly.com/philly/blogs/weather.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-434 or pmucha@phillynews.com.