Storm brings snow, rain to Philadelphia region
A storm moving across Pennsylvania brought a small amount of snow to the Philadelphia area today, and is expected to lead to heavy rain later this afternoon and evening.
By 2 p.m., snow had been reported in Doylestown, Coatesville, Pottstown, Lancaster and other areas surrounding the city, according to the National Weather Service. In Philadelphia, sleet had already given way to rain, and freezing rain was falling in some parts of the city.
Most of South Jersey was also seeing rain.
Further west, snow has been falling in places like Harrisburg, State College, Reading and Allentown.
Around Philly, any additional snow should quickly turn over to rain in the city, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines said. An inch or two of snow could accumulate in the suburbs, though.
"In the far western and northern suburbs, the changeover won't occur quite as fast," he said.
The heaviest rain is slated to hit late afternoon and this evening, according to the weather service. The weather service has issued a flood watch for the area for tonight and Thursday morning.
"It's going to be pretty stormy for a time," Kines said. In addition to the rain, Philadelphia could see wind gusts as high as 40 mph, while gusts of 50 to 60 mph could blow on the New Jersey coast.
In all, an inch and a half to two inches of rain is expected. That could lead to flooded streams and roadways.
And after the rainstorm that hit Philly last week, "the region has become more vulnerable to stream and river flooding, as well as poor drainage flooding," a weather service alert says.
The same storm system has caused havoc in the South and is expected dump large amounts of snow on Ohio and north and central Pennsylvania. At mid-afternoon, Philadelphia International Airport was reporting widespread delays, and some cancelations, for flights across the East Coast and Midwest.
On Tuesday, winds toppled trees that killed one person in Texas and one in Louisiana, the Associated Press reported. Another person was killed in a crash on a snowy road in Oklahoma.
Those traveling across Pennsylvania today after holiday celebrations should use caution: Across the northern edge of the state, a winter storm warning is in effect from 1 p.m. today until 7 a.m. Thursday, with eight to 12 inches of snow expected. The snow is predicted to begin mid-day and continue through the evening, turning to light snow and freezing drizzle overnight.
Northeast Pennsylvania and the Poconos should see heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain, with six to 10 inches of snow expected.
Central Pennsylvania is predicted to see four to eight inches of snow that will turn to a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain in the late afternoon and evening. Travelers there could run into .10 to .25 inches of ice on the ground.