Slip and Slide........Winter Version

Good Evening Folks!

Welcome to the early 1700's everyone, a time of no electricity and no internet.  To some this may sound like the end of the world and to others a nice break from it all..........the internet that is.  Some of us might be experiencing this first hand in the next several hours.  So get your generators gassed up, flashlights ready, and fill those tubs with water.  You might wonder about the water in the tub part and if you've gone through an extended period of no power, you know how important it is to have a functioning toilet. 

I believe all locations will see some icing but depending upon your location will determine the amount of ice you will see.  Here is my breakdown by area:

Philadelphia/Delaware/South Jersey - Currently a Freezing Rain Advisory is posted and is set to expire at 8am tomorrow morning in anticipation of things warming up by then.. Expect the current freezing drizzle tonight to slowly transition to a steady freezing rain and even heavy freezing rain for a short period overnight.  Temps will bottom out in the upper 20's and will slowly rise to above freezing around daybreak tomorrow.  Projected ice is .2 inches so while any ice is bad, that will be on the light side compared to what some others will be receiving.  Main roads (76, 676, 95, 295, 55) should just be wet so travel shouldn't be much of an issue.  Some of the city streets will have a thin glaze on them but the biggest problem will be some minor street flooding.  With pretty much every storm drain being either snow or ice covered, there will be no where for that rain water to drain. Schools will most likely operate on a 2 hour delay tomorrow morning with a slight chance of closing.


Harrisburg/Mechanicsburg/Shrewsbury - Winter Storm Warning is posted and set to expire at 1pm tomorrow afternoon.  Expect freezing drizzle to transition to freezing rain and getting heavy at times overnight.  Due to the geographical nature of this area with hills, valleys, and mountains, travel will be less than ideal into the morning hours and the last place I'd want to find myself is sliding down one of those hills.  Ice amounts will range between .25 to .40 inches, the farther north you go the more ice you'll see.  Expect schools to be closed tomorrow and if you don't have to go out, don't!  Unless you are traveling via ice skates it's probably best to wait until things warm up enough to melt the ice on the roads.  Salting the roads will help the heavily traveled areas but expect slick spots on those back country roads.

Philly Suburbs N&W (Lansdale, Quakertown, Pottstown, Plymouth Meeting) -  Ice Storm Waning is posted and is set to expire at 4pm tomorrow.  Aside from the Lehigh Valley, this area will be in the sweet spot for some heavy icing.  Amounts may reach or even exceed .70 inches of ice.  That may not sound like a lot but when you are talking in amounts of that nature you can expect trees down, power lines down, and even roofs collapsing with the already heavy wet snow on them.  Freezing drizzle will transition to heavy freezing rain overnight and will last into the morning hours.  All schools will be closed tomorrow and most businesses as well.........unless you work for USPS (You know, neither rain, sleet, nor snow?).  The farther south (Plymouth Meeting) you are the less ice you will see and the farther north (Qtown) you go the better chance of seeing the high end of the ice amounts.

This storm is making history in many states, Chicago is currently under a Blizzard Warning and expecting up to 2 feet of snow, a 1'+ snow line stretching over 1500 miles across the country, and many places getting 2-3 feet of snow in the New England area.  This comma shaped storm is truly a monster and only getting stronger as it moves east.  Unlike a Nor'easter that draws its moisture from the Atlantic, this storm is pulling in its moisture from the warm Gulf.  Florida panhandle can expect tornadoes and heavy rain throughout the night and that will stretch into Georgia as well.  This by far will be the biggest storm the country will see this year with it affecting over 100 million people. 

If I can leave you with any advice it's to put those wiper blade up before the freezing rain moves in.  Nothing worse than ripping your wipers off trying to peel them away from your windshield.


Thanks for reading and be safe, not stupid!  Doesn't matter if you are driving a Hummer or a Pinto, no car is good on ice.

Gman the Weatherman