Snow, Noon update: Totals tweaked, timetable pushed back
Generally, 6 to 12 now expected, most of it after dark.
Snow, Noon update: Totals tweaked, timetable pushed back
This already peculiar storm still has 24 to 36 hours to go, but based on what it has seen so far, the National Weather Service is bumping down the overall forecast snow totals.
Instead of 8 to 16 across the region, it's going with 6 to 12, and the best news is that the afternoon commute shouldn't be all that bad. It looks as though the roads will stay wet, and most of the snow in the immediate Philadelphia area will hold off until well after dark. Here is the latest forecast map.
The decision to lower the projected totals was based on a number of factors, says Joe Miketta, a meteorologist in the Mount Holly office. The snow has persisted in a cone-shaped swath radiating outward from near Atlantic City to upstate New York. To the northeast, it's raining in New England.
You can get an idea of the extent of the snow in this Intellicast radar image.
The snow has stopped in western Chester County and throughout just about all of Delaware. Meanwhile, in some of the places where it's been snowing steadily, such as Trenton, the temperatures have remained stubbornly above freezing.
That's discouraged the snow from sticking. Plus, the water content of the flakes is so high that it is inhibiting accumulations.
Miketta said that to the south and west of the city, little additional snow would fall the rest of the day. Just to the north, the total daytime totals should be in the 2- to 4-inch range.
The storm will get cranking in earnest tonight. A wind advisory for gusts up to 50 m.p.h. is in effect from 4 p.m.today until 1 p.m. tomorrow.
But the strongest winds and heaviest snows may hold off until the overnight hours, said Miketta.
Keep in mind that 6 to 12 inches is still a significant amount of snow, and it may be falling heavily during the peak wind period. Some areas might even experience blizzard conditions before this all winds down sometime tomorrow.
It's not a "snow-icane," it's a "hype-icane."— rwellsinbc- One hell of a storm here....I can't handle all that wetness. (That's what she said!)— rochaa3
- I guess the teachers needed more rest.— grabusicc
- Lazy liberals saw an opportunity for a day off with pay so schools were closed and trash collection was cancelled before the snow arrived. Even yesterday the forecasters said the heaviest snow wouldn't fall until this afternoon and evening.— Phillies2008WSChamps
- just another week with out trash pickup, thats going on week 5 now! i wont have trash picked up till spring at this rate— rayne215
- @ Phillies2008WSChamps: Easy Glenn Beck, go shoot yourself in the face while cleaning your AK-47.— DennyP
- DennyP: It's not about me. I didn't make the decision. You can try to discredit me but it doesn't change the facts. Nice try though. How about defending the poor decision making by the liberals running the city instead of going after me?— Phillies2008WSChamps
- Dear Nugget, I a teacher that works for the Philadelphia School district and contrary to your popular belief, some teachers are actually sick of all this snow, and want to be in the classroom actually teaching(because again, not all teachers show videos at ANY time during the school year.) Like Thomas.Brighter stated earlier, we do have things we have to prepare our students to do, such as state, and mid-year testing. I think that you are bitter because YOUR job requires you to work all year...— northphillygirl
its raining men— azguz- Hopefully, the storm will get "cracking"..I know,,it's so sad for these weather people to be wrong....and the writers just keep writing without any other knowledge...shame.. Same as the Hurricane prediction..wrong.
- It's true, people - there's going to be weather! And we're all going to have a temperature!!! So stay home and watch NBC10! Suffer 20 minutes (or more) into the TV news for the full forecast you should get (and can online or on your mobile phone) in a second. Oh, and don't forget to set the alarm for 4 a.m. to witness what great insights about "conditions" Fox 29 has to report! Yup, it's still morning out there. Is every city as weather alarmist/fixated as ours? Let us hope not.— Jonathan Takiff
- Its a total conspiracy and always has been between the meterologists and the supermarkets. The supermarkets give kickbacks to the local tv stations.— mitch of mullica
- The weatherpeople are over-rated and take themselves too seriously— ermatt
- Its a flurricane. Flurrypalooza. Wetmageddon. Its another Bolaris meltdown. Who predicted this snow? Fox news?— mitch of mullica
- It's all good mon.....— Robert Nesta
Tony Wood has been writing about the atmosphere for The Inquirer for 26 years. E-mail Tony here. And read all his columns here.
