Weather Authority: Heavy rain, strong winds to impact Delaware Valley Wednesday, Thursday

PHILADELPHIA - A rainy Wednesday will reach a crescendo in the evening with a band of strong storms being pushed through the region by a cold front that will plummet temperatures. 

FOX 29's Kathy Orr says as the cold front moves through the area, winds will increase, with sustained winds at 20 to 30 mph, with damaging wind gusts into the 40 to 50 mph range into the overnight hours. The National Weather Service has issued a region-wide Wind Advisory through Thursday morning.

By 8 p.m. most of the region will be inundated by rain, with the heaviest downpours in Philadelphia and areas along the I-95 corridor in New Jersey. 

Forecasters aren't ruling out the possibility of some rare wintertime thunder as a cold front slams into warmer air that's brought spring-like temps to the area. 

As the storm moves offshore around 10 p.m. colder air in its wake will drop temperatures across the Delaware Valley by nearly 20 degrees, while the winds pick up.

Overnight lows will drop below freezing in Philadelphia and surrounding areas, and places north and west of the city will wake up with temperatures in the 20s. 

Temperatures will start to rebound by the weekend with highs on Friday returning to the 50s and reaching back into the 60s by Sunday.

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WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Rainy, windy. Low: 30

THURSDAY: Sunnier, blustery. High: 43, Low: 29

FRIDAY: Less windy. High: 50, Low: 38

SATURDAY: Morning showers to sun. High: 53, Low: 47

SUNDAY: Cloudy, mild. High: 61, Low: 47