Snow: Another miss for Philly region
Winds, maybe some slush, but not much snow left in forecast.
Thus far in the life of this storm, in the Washington-to-Philadelphia corridor the most-impressive snow-removal operation we've seen has been in the forecasts.
The winter storm warnings and advisories for 2 to perhaps 6 inches of snow this morning in the Philadelphia region have given way to calls for nuisance amounts tonight and during the early-morning hours.
In its afternoon discussion, the National Weather Service noted that the expected cooling never materialized today, and the model that is most aggressive with moisture this evening has performed woefully.
It said it was keeping up an advisory for perhaps up to 2 inches along the I-95 corridor, "but this may just be a step in the direction of canceling the snow headlines completely."
As for any threat to the late-day commute, temperatures remain near 40 all over the region, and not much of anything wet or white has fallen from those menacing skies.
The lack of precipitation has been one of the big surprises. As of 4 p.m., the official measurement at Philadelphia International Airport had not yet reached 0.10 inches -- way below computer-model projections.
No one has weighed in with measureable snow around here, and in the Baltimore-Washington area, which was under a winter storm warning, while 3.3 inches was reported at Dulles International Airport, only a trace had been measured at BWI Airport as of 1 p.m.
The computer models were right about the basics of what has become a major coastal storm. Parts of western Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia were buried under heavy snows.
It has generated impressive winds, with gusts over 60 m.p.h. at the Shore, and 40-plus in Philadelphia. As often happens, however, the details were elusive.
As for snow, the story line of the Philadelphia winter continues: 'Tis not the season.