Rain delayed

Lee Robertson fully expected that his softball game was doomed last night when he saw the approaching wall of fiery convection approaching the Chester County line late in the afternoon.

Since he works at the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, he would be more attuned to the threat than the average softball player.

So he was at least as surprised as everyone else when the wall bumped into a wall of another type, and the storms appeared to vanish into the thick air.

The game went on without interruption (his team one), and the grasses and other water-craving foliage cried "foul!"

To the northwest, the upper-air environment was ripe for strong storms, but by the time the line got near here, the dynamics just weren't there.

Some convection has popped up this afternoon over northern Delaware, and storms shows up in northeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey this morning, but the immediate Philly area has reamined rain-free.

That situation could continue well into the night, as it now appears that the bulk of the rain might hold off until after midnight.

But the meteorologists assure that it is coming, with Friday shaping up as an old-fashioned rainy day -- a rarity of late -- and showers persisting into tomorrow night.

The weather service forecast is calling for the potential for 2-plus inches of rain.

Meanwhile, today has turned out to be quite the anomaly in Philadelphia. After hitting 100 yesterday, the temperature has failed to reach 90 for the only the third time this month.