Cold temps tie 1936 record

After matching a record low for the date Wednesday morning, Philadelphia in all likelihood is experiencing its coldest Nov. 19 in 140 years of recordkeeping.

At 6:02 a.m. the official temperature at Philadelphia International Airport dropped to 20, matching the record for the date set in 1936. With a forecast high of 33, Wednesday also would set a new standard for the lowest average temperature for a Nov. 19, edging out 1936; the high that day was 36.

For those worried that this week's potentially record-setting cold signals the premature onset of a ferocious winter, be advised that a temperature record of a different type could fall Monday.

The high that day could reach 70 - that's not a misprint - said AccuWeather Inc. meteorologist Carl Erickson, and that would be one degree shy of the highest reading for a Nov. 24 in Philadelphia.

Although the atmosphere isn't quite winter-ripened, the dense snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere has contributed to the intensity of the cold in the mid-Atlantic, said Erickson. Snow has a refrigerating effect on air masses.

Philadelphia and Montgomery County have continued their "code blue" emergencies, in which officials are watching out for the homeless and shelters are activated. "Code blue" alerts are common around here - but not the week before Thanksgiving.

Evidently, many car batteries in the region did not enjoy Tuesday's overnight chill.

"We're definitely seeing a spike" in trouble calls, said Jana Tidwell, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic.

November cold snaps, however, typically have the shelf life of a late-March snowfall; rarely have they lasted more than two days. This one will be no exception.

Thursday temperatures will be back in the 40s, and after a reinforcing cold shot Friday, temperatures will begin to moderate, and then April arrives Monday.