The forecasters agree: Expect more snow

With uncharacteristic unanimity, computer models and the meteorologists who rely on them are saying it's time once again to send in the plows. They say from four to eight inches of snow will fall across the region starting by nightfall Tuesday and continuing until daybreak.

"It's almost scary to see such agreement," said Dave Dombek, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

Storms certainly hit hard in the South. According to the Associated Press, the wintry blast grounded flights, cut power to thousands of homes, and forced Auburn University to cancel viewing parties for the national championship game of college football.

Snow ranging from several inches to more than a foot blanketed states from Louisiana to the Carolinas, a region where many cities have only a handful of snow plows, if any. The storm shut down most cities and towns, closed many businesses, and forced cancellation of most flights at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world's busiest. At least nine people were killed in weather-related traffic accidents, according to the AP.

Late Monday, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Philadelphia and Delaware Counties, South Jersey, and Delaware.

A watch was posted for the other suburban counties, but that was a technical distinction. The warning threshold is six inches of snow; it is only four for the warned counties. Once the heavy snow backs off about 6 a.m. Wednesday, expect considerable blowing and drifting.

The heftier liquid amounts are expected at the Shore, but borderline-freezing temperatures may result in some mixing that would hold down snow amounts. Less precipitation is forecast to the west of the city, but it will be colder, so the snow-to-liquid ratios would be higher.

"That sort of balances it out," said Dombek, thus the general four-to-eight forecast. Still, snow totals might top out at three inches in far western Chester County, he added.

In any event, Wednesday morning is shaping up as brisk for school-closing numbers, and the morning commute may be "problematical," said Anthony Gigi at the Mount Holly weather service office. It also could be a dicey midweek for air travel, with more snow in the Midwest and possible blizzards in New England as the storm bombs out off the coast.

Depending on where the storm explodes, totals would be higher north and east of the city, with about eight inches from central Burlington County into North Jersey.

A foot could fall from Connecticut to Maine, with strong winds expected, as the coastal storm heads northeastward.