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January 19, 2000 (1:00AM)

System for Thursday appears to be on schedule with no major changes in the forecast. Doesn't look like a major storm for Philadelphia at this time, however points closer to the coast could get hit with significant snow, high winds, and beach erosion. The system isn't all that complex, but uncertainties remain as far as exact track and strength of the system. This system will undergo bombogenesis somewhere off the coast and will be intense especially upon reaching about 40N latitude. The storm system in question is just beginning to emerge from the Rockies and will find its way into the Ohio Valley by late tomorrow night. For us, that means, as often is the case, temperatures will moderate somewhat Wednesday in advance of the storm system to our west. We should see highs in the lower 30's rather than 20's. Wednesday night will feature increasing clouds. By daybreak Thursday, the low, now centered somewhere near West Virginia, should begin to transfer some of it's energy to the coast and a secondary low will redevelop close to Cape Hatteras and quickly intensify. We should begin to see light snow by midday. Exact timing is still off a bit, so by tonight, I will be able to put a time on the start of the snow. Snow should be light most of the day and possibly intermittent the way it looks now. Snow should taper to flurries late Thursday night with a howling wind and frigid temperatures setting in once again. So, right now, this looks like nothing more than a nuicance snow, but one model (NGM) has hinted at a moderate snow event for us in PHL. Overall concensus however says this will be no big deal and Philly will live to see another day. Looks like a possible 1-3 inch event for now. On the other hand, places near the coast, especially Cape Cod, look extremely vulnerable to this system. If the track was just right, a foot wont be out of the question for that area. Of course I will be updating throughout the day Wednesday, so feel free to stop back and see if there are any changes to the forecast. Take care!