Above-freezing Friday in Philadelphia area; mostly sunny Valentine's weekend. Here's the forecast.
Friday will be another day with temperatures above freezing in the Philadelphia area, but below the normal high of 44 degrees. Jackets, hats and gloves are needed for the morning, with just a coat needed in the afternoon.
Winds will not be as strong, and umbrellas can be left at home. It's a good day for additional snow melt and getting the last-minute shopping done for your Valentine. No issues expected for your Friday evening plans.
Overnight, it will be partly cloudy and cool with a low temperature of 25 degrees. There are chances of snow showers in the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos, but there won't be much accumulation.
NEXT big change
The first big change arrives on Valentine's weekend. Saturday is fine with highs in the upper 40s and partly to mostly sunny skies.
It's actually pretty nice actually, with no weather related issues at any time of the day. Great for going out for dinner.
North and west of the city, a weak disturbance could bring a chance of snow showers.
On Sunday, clouds increase as a coastal storm passes by to our south. Daytime highs in the 40s will tumble to near freezing overnight.
The models continue to bounce back and forth with chances of rain, snow, both, or nothing. The track is key, and any precipitation will be late in the day Sunday through the overnight.
That said, even if there is snow, it will melt quickly. While Sunday evening and overnight will be cold enough for snow, they're followed by a warm-up to the mid and upper 40s on Monday.
There is simply no Arctic air in place to keep things frozen. This will not be a major event; there will be at most an inch of snow, but most places will likely not even get that.
The second big change are the temperatures and our trek upward to the low 50s by Tuesday. The extended outlook keeps us above freezing during the day for the next 7-10 days.
Beginning this weekend, we will be back above our normal daytime high in the low 40s through all next week. More showers are forecast for Mid-week in the form of rain, thus melting even more snow. The snow pack will likely be considerably less by next weekend.
Speaking of snow pack, Thursday marked 18 consecutive days with 4 inches or more measured in Philadelphia. This makes it the 4th longest stretch ever recorded and the most since 1961.
Here's your 7-day forecast:
Friday: Mostly sunny. High 40, low 24.
Saturday: Heart-warming (Valentine's Day). High 48, low 25.
Sunday: Evening rain or snow. High 44, low 32.
Monday: Mostly sunny. High 49, low 32.
Tuesday: Finally warm. High 53, Low 33.
Wednesday: Mild. High 50, low 37.
Thursday: Mostly sunny. High 50, low 41.
