Slight Risk Of Severe Weather Today
6:15 PM Update: Severe weather blows through the region, leading to traffic problems along the Schuylkill Expressway (see the photo on the left to show the Schuylkill at 6:15 PM...click the link above for current traffic from KYW 1060).Winds have been gusting to 56 mph in reported observations at Philadelphia over the last hour with the squall front moving through. Temperatures have dropped ten degrees between 5 and 6 PM in Pottstown, a sign of colder air on its way.
6 PM Update: Severe Thunderstorm Warnings for much of the region until 6:30 PM as the cold front blows through with a squall line.
Flooding and water rises continue along streams and rivers in the region.
5 PM Update: Here comes the wind! NE Philadelphia had a wind gust to 38 mph in the past hour. Expect wind gusts to 50 mph this evening as the low tracks through. We should see one more batch of rain track to the west and then north of Philadelphia with the low pressure center itself. Temperatures will begin to fall off as the low passes by and the cold front clears the area.
2PM Update: Rainfall is letting up as a batch of heavy rain is moving out of the region. Showers and thunderstorms are forming down in Maryland and are moving into South Central Pennsylvania. These storms will cross through the region over the next few hours and are in association with the cold front. This front -- and those thunderstorms with the front -- will cross over the next three to four hours.
Temperatures in Philadelphia are at 63 as of 2 PM, with low 60's across much of the Philadelphia region at this time.
With our lull in between systems underway we're seeing the stage set up for the next round of activity. The next round of showers and thunderstorm activity is currently (as of 7 AM) over Virginia and North Carolina, moving northeast. This will move northeast and begin to impact our area after 10 or 11 AM this morning.
With low pressure tracking west of I-81 up the spine of the Appalachian Mountains we will move into the warmer sector of the storm system later this morning. With increased humidity and instability in the atmosphere there is a slight risk of severe weather for the Delaware Valley today, extending south through South Jersey, Delaware, and into Maryland. The best chance for any thunderstorm activity will be after 11 AM and before 5 PM today. After 5 PM, the cold front and low pressure should pass through the region and we should see precipitation come to an end.
Including last night's rainfall, model guidance is keeping the heaviest rainfall potential along I-95 and east, with the potential for another inch or two of rainfall today in heavier shower activity. This is somewhat better news for those west of I-95...while rainfall could be heavy in places it should not be as widespread as earlier thought.
We will see temperatures jump into the 50's north/west of Philadelphia and 60's from Philadelphia on east and south later this morning and early this afternoon. I will update with any severe weather watches if they are issued later this morning or early this afternoon.Tags:
