Temps Friday in Philadelphia region will be below-freezing again, tracking potential snow. Here's the forecast.
Our below-freezing stretch in the Philadelphia region continues on Friday, making it the seventh consecutive day with a high temperature below 32 degrees.
Speaking of that, Thursday marked the sixth day, making it the longest stretch since 2018, when we had seven days below 32 degrees.
After Friday, it will be the longest since 2004, when we had nine days, and once we get to Sunday (nine days), it will officially be the longest consecutive stretch since 1979 — nearly 50 years! Needless to say, temps this cold for this long don't happen too often here in the Philly area.
Temperatures will likely not get back above freezing until Tuesday of next week, marking 10 days of subfreezing temps. We've only had subfreezing streaks longer than that six times since records have been kept, with the record being the 15-day stretch in 1979.
NEXT big weather change
In addition, we are watching a major coastal storm this weekend. The good news, as we continue to dig out from this past weekend's storm, is that the forecast model tracks continue to push the storm a bit farther east, taking the big snow potential with it.
As of now, the most likely scenario is that the storm will bring heavy snow to Virginia and the Carolinas, and likely at least brush the Delaware beaches and the Jersey Shore points with some accumulating snow. The second most likely path, based on the latest model guidance, would be fully out to sea and a complete miss for our area.
This is a completely different type of system than what we saw this past Sunday. With the track well off to the south and east, this will be all snow for anyone who gets precipitation. If the snow does make it into the city, it would likely be more reminiscent of two Sundays ago, when it snowed lightly all day and accumulated a few inches at most.
Regardless of the storm's track, it is expected to become what's known as a "bomb cyclone" — a term given to a non-tropical cyclone that undergoes a process known as bombogenesis, which is defined as a rapid decrease in pressure over a short period of time.
In our region, the generally accepted definition is a loss of 24 millibars of pressure over 24 hours. When a storm loses pressure, it's an indication of strengthening, so bombogenesis at it's core means rapid strengthening or intensification.
Because of the very strong low off the coast, we also have to mention other coastal impacts. Even if the snow stays out to sea, we can expect wind gusts up to 50 mph along the coast and the threat for coastal flooding, thanks to the ocean water being pushed toward the coastline.
The best advice is to stay with the NEXT Weather team for frequent updates each day to plan and prepare for the weekend.
Side note — if you're wondering if there is a big warmup in the extended forecast, the answer is no.
The longest forecast model goes out to Valentine's Day weekend and isn't showing any considerable warming at this point. Hopefully it changes and we can get some melting help from mother nature.
Here's your 7-day forecast:
Friday: NEXT Weather Alert for Arctic cold. High 19, Low 5
Saturday: NEXT Weather Alert for Arctic cold. High 23, Low 4
Sunday: NEXT Weather Alert cold, snow. High 26, Low 12
Monday: NEXT Weather Alert freezing. High 31, Low 16
Tuesday: Thawing out. High 33, Low 18
Wednesday: Not as cold. High 35, Low 18
Thursday: Cold start. High 34, Low 16
