December 12, 2000
A high wind advisory is in effect for our region for tomorrow as a cold front approaches from the west. Winds will gust to 40mph or over as the system passes through before noon. Winds will shift to the west and subside later tomorrow night but will remain sustained at 25-35mph during the afternoon. So, as the saying goes, batten down the hatches. As stated, things will settle down tomorrow night and temperatures will dip into the 20s for overnight lows. Wednesday will feature increasing cloudiness as another storm system approaches from the west. Highs will be in the mid 30s Wednesday. After the sun sets Wednesday is when things get tricky. The aforementioned storm system will approach our region from the southwest, but there are a few wrenches thrown in the forecast. At the moment, I think we have a decent handle on this event, but nothing is etched in stone. Precip will break out late Wednesday night in the form of snow as temperatures dip into the upper 20s. Temperatures will slowly rise throughout the night and turn any snow to sleet and freezing rain, and eventually all rain. At least that is the thinking right now. Accumulations, if any, will be light before any changeover. The majority of the models are now splitting this system into two pieces, one riding up the Ohio Valley and the other just south and east of Philly. With abundant southerly winds at upper levels, I see no argument with the models that precip will change to rain. However, one model, the ETA (which has been downright awful so far this season) keeps our area below freezing at the surface throughout the duration of the storm. In a nutshell, the ETA is downright scary, dropping 1 inch liquid precip over the Delaware Valley. It has areas just to our North and West getting pummelled with heavy snow, while areas closer to the city see an epic ice storm. Think the ETA may be overdoing the low level cold air, and is the only model depicting such an event, so we didn't rely on it's forecast heavily. Just wanted to mention that there is still some uncertainty with the models, but am hedging toward the warmer solution. Things could change, but right now will stick with snow to sleet to rain Thursday morning. If the storm moves in faster than progged, the ETA could very well verify as an area of cold high pressure will be unable to be displaced in time. Things look ok the rest of the week with temps in the 40s. Another system will be approaching sometime over the weekend, but right now things look too warm here for any frozen precip. Check back for any updates and drive safely tomorrow as it will be quite windy.
