Snow: Inch in city to 7 in Poconos?

Wednesday morning's commute could be messy, with wet snow falling - and possibly delaying or closing schools.

It may be spring, but winter weather isn't finished with us yet.

Snow's also mentioned in Sunday's forecast, and lows through the weekend will be near or below freezing, even in the city.

Wednesday morning, following some overnight rain, Philadelphia and Delaware County could get an inch of wet snow, with totals ranging from two inches in the nearby Pennsylvania suburbs to more than a half-foot in counties to the north and northwest.

While lawns are likely to get white, treated roads could stay mostly wet in and around the city, since temperatures will only flirt with freezing, and rain should return by noon.

Not that forecasters are ever sure.

One computer model calls for all rain in Philadelphia, while another sees scenarios that include six inches of snow or several inches of sleet, said meteorologist Anthony Gigi of the National Weather Service.

Most computer models fall in-between.

One run, though, even came up with an ice storm with a half-inch of ice. Gigi put the odds of that at "zero point zero zero 1 percent."

"That's just one you throw out because that doesn't make any sense," he said.

No computer model runs call for 65 and sunny.

Although spring snowstorms can get intense, they also tend to end quickly, Gigi said.

By the end of the morning rush, sun and warmer air should help turn the snow back to rain. "It shouldn't be much of an issue as the day goes on," he said.

Winds are not expected to be a problem.

Further out in the Pennsylvania suburbs, though, snow might accumulate early on secondary roads, he said.

Totals increase substantially to the north in Pennsylvania, with a winter storm watch for Berks, Lehigh and counties further north, according to the National Weather Service.

Predicted amounts on its snowfall map range from two inches in northern Chester County and three in central and northwestern Montgomery County, to about 4-1/2 in central and northern Bucks, and more than a half-foot from Reading to the Poconos and North Jersey.

This includes snow that falls and melts, so the amounts are not the same as accumulation, or snow depth, Gigi said.

Eight inches might fall in higher elevations, according to the winter storm watch, in effect from late tonight through late Wednesday.

Camden County and northeastern Burlington County might see an inch, while the rest of South Jersey is mostly expecting rain.

After Wednesday night, skies should be dry throughout the area for several days, with highs in the mid to upper 40s.

Sunday morning, though, precipitation could return, possibly bringing some snow, even in the city, before changing to rain.

"The chance exists for accumulating snow. We're five days away, so we'll have to see," Gigi said.

For more on the forecast, go to http://go.philly.com/weather.

For wide-ranging weather discussions, see Tony Wood's "Weather or Not" blog at www.philly.com/philly/blogs/weather.