Nor'easter bearing down on region
2-4 inches of snow in Philly, gusts up to 55 m.p.h. at Shore possible
For days the European forecast model has foreseen a potent winter storm forming off the Atlantic coast, and now the short-term models are in accord.
This is likely to be a volatile and fluid situation, and expect forecast changes while the storm is raging.
The current National Weather Service forecast is calling for the storm to begin affecting the region Thursday night and to linger well into Saturday.
The precipitation is expected to start as snow, then change to rain, and then back to snow again during the early morning hours of Saturday.
How much accumulates will depend on how two different systems interact when they consolidate somewhere off the Carolina coast.
But the thinking is that about 2 to 4 inches will accumulate in and around Philly -- which would make it the biggest of the season -- with up to 6 inches in far northern Bucks County.
As our online story suggests, Boston could get creamed, with up to 2 feet possible in southern New England, where the precipitation will be heavier, and whiter.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly is saying that winds could gust to 55 m.p.h. at the Shore, and to 40 m.p.h. inland.