January 14, 2004
Welcome to wintertime! After a relatively mild December and very early January, Old Man Winter marked his return with biting cold temperatures last weekend where low temperatures were in the single digits and highs only reached the teens for a couple of days. While temperatures rebounded into the upper 30s to around 40 on Monday, and will again today, one must realize that this is the seasonal average for this time of year (39F) though it feels downright balmy to some of us! Now on the horizon, we are not only faced the likelihood of snowfall Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, but numbing bitterly cold temperatures and wind-chill factors will follow right behind!!
The remainder of today will be variably cloudy. As an Arctic boundary makes it's way through from the North and West, there is the chance for a brief snow squall or snow shower later this afternoon. Highs will be around 40, temperatures falling back into the 30s later this afternoon.
We will start off the day Wednesday under partly sunny skies, but clouds will increase as the day goes on. Temperatures will be very cold with highs stuggling to get out of the mid 20s. Snow will overspread the region between 8-11PM Wednesday night. Snow will become moderate for a period during the overnight hours on Wednesday. Low temperatures Wednesday night will be around 20.
Snow tapers off to snow showers around midday on Thursday in the Philadelphia area, but could linger on for a while in New Jersey, especially coastal areas. Total accumulations around 2-5" for the Delaware County area. Winds will be on the increase during the day with temperatures on the decline. Bitterly cold high temperatures Thursday will be around 20 very early in the morning with temperatures dropping through the teens and possible single digits throughout the afternoon!! Wind chills will be a numbing 10-25 degrees below zero. Continued windy Thursday night with lows in the lower single digits. If the wind subsides and allows for optimal radiational cooling conditions, temperatures could dip below zero Thursday night!
Continued very cold and breezy on Friday with partly cloudy skies. Highs in the mid 20s.
Temperatures should moderate somewhat later this weekend. During the weekend, a rather potent storm system will begin to gather strength and moisture down in the deep South and Gulf of Mexico. We will be keep a very close eye on this system as it could affect our weather early next week. Stay tuned . . .
S.B.
