Weather Authority: Coastal storm to bring snow Wednesday
PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - As the region continues to recover from damage following Friday's powerful storm, the FOX 29 Weather Authority is tracking rain, strong winds and heavy snow for the area on Wednesday.
A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for several counties beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday. A full list of those counties can be found below.
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Friday's storm brought heavy snow and strong winds and this storm is expected to have a similar impact. While the winds aren't expected to be quite as strong, the snow is expected to be wet and heavy, adding even more weight to power lines and trees. That weight combined with strong wind gusts could lead to all kinds of problems including power outages and hazardous travel.
This week's coastal storm has the potential to bring significant snow to areas to the north and west of Philadelphia. One of the trickier factors in forecasting Friday's storm was timing when the rain turned to snow.
TIMING:
As with Friday's nor'easter, Wednesday's coastal storm is expected to start off as rain for most of our area. Areas to the north and west could see snow as early as 10 p.m. Tuesday night, while areas more to the south and east are expected to see rain. FOX 29's Kathy Orr says the wildcard is rain mixing in with snow in Philadelphia and south and east of the city.
That rain should turn to snow and sleet along the I-95 corridor sometime around the morning rush, around 7 a.m. Parts of South Jersey and Delaware can expect to see rain a little longer into the morning.
The varying times of turnover from rain to snow will lead to varying snowfall totals when all is said and done.
TOTALS:
With snow starting early in the northern and western parts of the area, residents there could see as much as 8-15 inches of snow. Some areas may see even more than 12 inches locally.
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The city of Philadelphia could see up to 6 inches of snow pile up on top of the rain and sleet that's expected to fall overnight.
South Jersey and Delaware are looking at totals in the 3-6 inch range as the coastal storm brings them mostly rain to start the day.
Snow is expected to taper off across the area late Wednesday night.
TEMPERATURES:
Temperatures are expected to be in the 30's through the day Wednesday with things getting colder as we get later into the morning.
WIND:
Wind gusts could reach speeds of 35-45 miles per hour and could be potentially damaging. With the wet and heavy snow, drifting should not be much of an issue.
Power outages are expected to be an issue after a wet month of February has loosened up ground, potentially helping topple trees and power lines as we saw on Friday.
Below is a list of counties under a Winter Storm Warning:
MORE: See here for Philadelphia-area Winter Storm Alerts
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Here is a quick look at the rest of the week:
WEDNESDAY: Rain and snow in the morning changing to all snow in the afternoon. Becoming windy, 20-30 mph.Snow potential of 5-8 inches in Philadelphia. Low: 29 High: 37
THURSDAY: A few clouds. Low: 26 High: 40
FRIDAY: More clouds than sun. Low: 25 High: 42
SATURDAY: Partly cloudy. Low: 26 High: 42