Philly is warming up after a historic cold snap, as locals break out short sleeves and plan vacations

Punxsutawney Phil may have seen his shadow, but Phillies pitchers and catchers are reporting in at the Clearwater spring training facility, and that means one thing: Warmer weather is arriving in Philadelphia.

After the biggest snowfall in a decade and an Arctic freeze that locked in the snowpack with a tenacity rarely experienced in the region, Philadelphians can now be seen walking the streets in short sleeves, eating lunch outside, and preparing for spring staples like the Cherry Blossom Festival.

It was only in the 40s in Philly Wednesday, but after what felt like a never-ending cold front, it might as well have been summer.

“I can’t wait to take walks again,” said Jenny Rojas, a Korean major at the University of Pennsylvania. She and classmate Justin Lo were strolling through campus in 40-degree weather like it was a breath of fresh air after weeks of below-freezing temperatures.

“I’m from Michigan, so this snow isn’t that bad, but the temperatures were freezing. We just stayed inside,” said Lo, a Penn economics major.

As Philadelphians bustled through Penn’s campus, an assortment of short-sleeve T-shirts, skirts, and shorts was sported by many. Some folks’ lack of coats didn’t stop Lo and Rojas from bundling up still. And while the temperature is getting reasonable, Philadelphians are still traversing treacherously slippery sidewalks and 3-foot snow piles blocking walkways.

The remnants are going to be slow to vanish with overnight lows below freezing, but the snowpack is decidedly showing its age and is on the run.

Temperatures are due to cool down some Thursday and Friday with highs in the 30s, but the 40s are due back on the weekend.

For some, like Penn administrative assistant Sheria Crawley, it was just a relief, and a surprise, to be able to finally say, “Thank God it’s 30 degrees out.” Crawley, who has lived in the city for years, said the snowstorm of 2026 is one of the worst she’s seen, not giving residents a reprieve from the cold.

“It was brutal because we’re used to getting snow and then a warm-up right after that takes the snow away. This year, we couldn’t catch a break,” she said.

The thing she can’t wait for most this spring is to see the “last vestige” of snow finally melt. Crawley said she would be excited then, but the severity of this storm would stick with her for years.

“I feel like there’s going to be a mass exodus from the city to all the classic vacation spots nearby so that we can just recover from that storm,” she said.

Eirini Antonopoulou felt like a phoenix rising from the ashes after weeks cooped up inside without the sunshine.

“Since the previous weeks have been so gloomy, I’ve been feeling kind of down,” the Penn freshman said. “It’s gorgeous out today. We have more sunlight now, so I feel more optimistic.”

Antonopoulou’s classmate, Tyrus Roney, said he was happy to see city life returning to normal, with people stopping to chat and not bundled up, rushing to their destinations.

“It’s just it’s so much more vibrant with people outside interacting with each other,” Roney said. “Now we just have to take care of this dirty snow on the side of the road.”

On another day, perhaps we would mention that the region has an outside chance of seeing some fresh snow late in the weekend. That can wait; as long as it chooses.