Weather Alert: Dry, colder end to 2023 in Delaware Valley; no snow on horizon

PHILADELPHIA - The sun is back in full swing Sunday, just in time for the Eagles game.

It will also be colder this weekend. We're back in the mid-40s for the first time since last weekend. We've had highs in the 50s rolling ever since Christmas Eve day.

Planning ahead, the 40s stick around for the first 10 days of January. For scale, highs in the low 40s are average.

We'll also close out 2023 on a dry note.

It sure was a wet December: Philadelphia got nearly eight inches of rain. If it were colder in December, that would have provided 80 inches of snow. Yes, 80 inches. The meteorological rule of thumb is 10 inches of snow for every inch of liquid. The next time we have 10 inches of snow, let it melt, and you'll have an inch of water.

December's higher than average rainfall brings the yearly total to 42 inches. That's pretty close to average because we usually grab around 44 inches each year. What's interesting is Philadelphia gets more rain each year than Seattle! Seattle gets around 38 inches a year. Heavy rain from summer thunderstorms help to drive up our rainfall total each year, whereas the Seattle area gets far fewer stormy days. They get many misty, drizzly days, particularly in the winter.

Saturday, December 30 marks the 700th day since we had an inch of snow. The last time Philly got an inch of snow was back on Saturday, January 29, 2022 when we grabbed 5 inches in the city and closer to 14 inches down the shore. With highs in the 40s through at least the second weekend of January, there are snow snowstorms in sight.