The season’s first bout of winter weather is possible in Philly early this week
Tuesday's morning rush hour may be impacted by snow accumulations up to an inch in Philadelphia, Trenton, and Wilmington.
Philadelphia could experience the season’s first significant blast of winter weather early this week.
A brewing winter storm may bring a mix of rain and snow to Philly, Trenton, and Wilmington early Tuesday, impacting the morning rush hour, forecasters at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly said. Up to an inch of snowfall is possible.
Meanwhile, the southern Poconos and northwest New Jersey could see anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of snow. The weather service has issued a winter storm watch for Carbon and Monroe Counties in Pennsylvania and Sussex County in New Jersey.
Any snow in Philly could quickly change to rain by mid-morning Tuesday, with high temperatures in the low 40s. More than an inch of rain is possible but flooding is not expected, according to Sunday evening’s forecast. Along the coast, 5- to 8-foot seas and gusty winds are possible Tuesday night.
Sunny conditions are expected Wednesday.
Over the last five winters, an average of only 11.3 inches of snow per season has been measured in Philadelphia, which is half the long-term yearly average.
In more than a century of recordkeeping, half of the top 10 snow years have occurred in the last three decades. And periods of snow lulls are not uncommon, either: In the five winters ending 1931-32, the average was 10.1 inches, and in the five seasons that ended with the winter of 1952-53, the average was 11.8 inches.