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Dangerous cold conditions continue in Philadelphia region Wednesday. Here's the forecast.

Feels-like temps below zero! NEXT Weather Alert for dangerous cold around Philadelphia area
Feels-like temps below zero! NEXT Weather Alert for dangerous cold around Philadelphia area 03:47

The snow and icy roads are both sticking around as the Philadelphia region deals with the coldest air since 2018 this week. 

Wednesday will only see high temperatures in the mid-teens to the north, 20 degrees in the city and lows across the region between minus 2 and 9 degrees. 

This comes with another reinforcing push of Arctic air, which means even the city of Philadelphia may feel between minus 5 and minus 10. Wind chills will dip below zero at night with the feels-like temperatures between 0 to 10 during the day.

Follow Philadelphia-area school closings and delays here

Weather alerts in Philadelphia

A cold weather advisory is in effect until noon Wednesday in the Philadelphia region due to dangerous temperatures. These alerts take effect when wind chills have potential to drop to minus 10 degrees.

In Monroe and Carbon Counties in the Poconos, an extreme cold warning is in effect until noon on Wednesday. Those areas were waking up to wind chills as low as minus 27!

We're under NEXT Weather Alerts through Thursday to keep you aware of this dangerous cold.

Winter weather checklist

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CBS Philadelphia

This is a good time to remember the 3 "Ps" — people, pets and pipes.

  • People: Check on the elderly, make sure they have heat, and all children bundled up for the bus in the morning should be dressed in multiple layers, with hats, gloves, scarves and all extremities covered.
  • Pets: If we don't like this weather, they don't either. Make sure to limit those bathroom breaks and walks.
  • Pipes: For older homes especially, make sure to wrap older pipes in towels or rags and have a light trickle dripping in the rarely used sinks and faucets to prevent pipes from bursting.

Philadelphia weather forecast for rest of the week

On Thursday, we remain in the deep freeze but will finally climb above freezing for the first time in nearly five days on Friday, when our NEXT Weather Alerts expire.

That's when the thawing starts heading into the weekend, which gives us some relief — temperatures will likely climb into the 40s by Sunday in time for the Eagles-Commanders game!

Polar vortex explained: definition of the phenomenon behind this cold weather forecast

You only hear about the polar vortex when it's bothering us, but it's always there.

It's a persistent low that stays over the polar regions like northern Canada and Russia. Usually this mass of super-cold air stays spinning around the North Pole. But every now and then you can get an area of low pressure or a front that can cause the vortex to wobble or weaken, causing it to drag some of that polar air southward toward us.

This major cold weather across the country happened as Arctic air from the polar vortex pushed southward into our lower latitudes.

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A temperature gradient shows how polar air is pulling southward across Canada and the United States this week, bringing low temperatures not seen in years to cities like Philadelphia. Cool colors like blue represent cold air, with the purple and white being the coldest. CBS News Philadelphia

This polar air is also bringing dangerous cold and winter storms to parts of the American South and the Gulf Coast, where it snowed in New Orleans for the first time since 2004.

7-day NEXT Weather forecast:

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CBS News Philadelphia

Wednesday: NEXT Weather Alert for cold. High 21, Low 9.

Thursday: NEXT Weather Alert for cold. High 31, Low 10.

Friday: Thawing out. High 33, Low 18.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. High 34, Low 14.

Sunday: Balmy! High 45, Low 28.

Monday: Rain/snow? High 39, Low 26.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. High 41, Low 24.

NEXT Weather Radars

Hourly Forecast

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