Itstrainingtime

In 40+ years of driving, never have I experienced the effect of wind on a car like I did last night on the Girard Point Bridge leaving the 76ers game. The crosswinds were insane - despite the fact that there was little traffic on the bridge, I don't think anyone was going more than 45mph. Everyone was holding on to their steering wheels for dear life.

Given all of the concerns that have been mentioned, that doesn't seem low to me. This has coating to perhaps a slushy couple of inches written all over it outside of higher elevations. As usual, I could be very wrong. I was pretty happy to get back to the historic area late last night. I left the Wells Fargo Center and was greeted by flying debris everywhere. It was insane. I knew that when we got on the bridge crossing the Schuylkill River that we were in for a wild ride. It delivered. My wife said that a plane aborted landing while we were on the bridge - I was too scared to look, LOL

A balmy 39 here.

MU update for Wednesday: In the wake of the front, clearing skies will accompany temperatures that'll drop into the 30s by daybreak. A high pressure system settling over the Commonwealth on Tuesday will cause winds to become light later in the afternoon, but it will feel much chillier outside with highs only reaching the mid-40s to around 50. It's no secret that the "word is out" with regard to a late-season snow threat on Wednesday, with the weather slated to do a "total 180" in a matter of just 36 hours or less. A disturbance currently located over the Four Corners region will move rapidly northeastward into the central US on Tuesday and "stay the course" as it pushes into western PA by Wednesday. To the southeast of the disturbance, a storm system will develop across the Tennessee River Valley and move to a position off the Delmarva Peninsula by Wednesday. The air mass settling overhead Tuesday night should be "just cold enough" for a period of snow to occur across southern PA and far northern Maryland on Wednesday morning. Of course, it will only take a subtle shift north in the storm's track, or the chilly air mass to not push quite as far south, for snow to be mixed with or just end up being plain rain Wednesday morning. At this time, I actually do favor (with about 60/40 odds) a period of all snow Wednesday morning since the storm should track well to our south. I expect snow to overspread the Lower Susquehanna Valley from southwest-to-northeast around daybreak or in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday and continue throughout much of the morning. Despite the fact that it may snow for 4-6 hours, there are still plenty of reasons to be skeptical of anything more than a "nuisance" event. First, low temperatures Tuesday night will only fall into the low-to-mid 30s and remain above freezing while it's snowing Wednesday morning. Secondly, ground, roadway, and sub-surface temperatures are way above freezing following the record-breaking warmth and will stay that way through the rest of the week. Finally, the snow will be occuring primarily during the daylight hours and have to battle the strong March sun, whose angle is now equivalent to that of early October. Under these circumstances, it will have to snow at the rate of 1-2" per hour for snow to stick on paved surfaces. It may even be challenging for the snow to stick on non-paved surfaces, especially in the valleys and lower elevations. A few hundred feet of elevation can make a 1-2 degree difference in temperature, and this is often vital when talking about snowfall accumulations in March. So, I suspect that most locations will pick up a general coating to one inch of snow, with 1-3" more likely along the South Mountain Range and higher elevations in northern Lancaster County. Higher elevations to the north/west of Harrisburg also have a greater chance of receiving 1-3" of snow. If the snow arrives a few hours earlier than anticipated, then there's a higher probability of greater snowfall amounts since more would fall before sunrise. Keep in mind that these accumulations are with respect to grassy surfaces. I expect paved surfaces to generally remain wet, with any slushy spots being confined to untreated, secondary roadways in the highest elevations. The primary weather-related travel issue will be reduced visibility in any heavier bands of snow during the Wednesday morning commute. Be sure to reduce speed if you encounter areas of low visibility, and exercise caution on the wet roadways. As temperatures slowly climb into the upper 30s and precipitation lightens around midday, snow will mix with and change to rain before ending late Wednesday afternoon.

Probably experienced one of the more intense moments in 40+ years of driving leaving south Philly tonight - the winds on top of the Girard Point Bridge leaving the stadium complex was unreal. I was holding on to the steering wheel for dear life as the cross winds at the top of the span were pushing the car all over the place. No idea how high the winds were but I've driven through many a storm over the years and have never been pushed around like that.

Stuck at 74 here for the past hour plus.

Well then. Shoot that white gold SW of you to Maytown.

You're going to blow the snow off your grass?

It'll be interesting to read Kyle's thoughts later today...

Probably thinking that the NAM is wrong? Actually - CTP's forecast for Wednesday was out long before the 12z NAM.

It's 73 at 10:45am.

CTP's forecast for me on Wednesday: Wednesday Rain likely, possibly mixed with snow, becoming all rain after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 41. Southeast wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Thanks for posting this - have to believe the biggest risk is winds, no?

Temp is STILL 72 here at 5:10pm. Funny about the firepit, my wife and I were just discussing firing it up this evening.

Because the cold front will remain to our north tonight & not move through until late Mon. afternoon, we'll see a "repeat performance" of the near- to record-breaking warmth. In fact, it's a good bet that highs will be 1-3 degrees above today, w/an outside chance of hitting 80! 59m MU Weather Center@MUweather Partial sunshine this afternoon has effectively routed out any remaining low-level pockets of chilly air, & temps are "off to the races!" Highs have reached the low-to-mid 70s after all, including at @millersvilleu where the old record of 72 from 1946 has been shattered!

Got to 75.7 here (76) and then clouded over quickly. Currently down to 73.2 with overcast skies and quite windy.

76 here now...

73 and rising...

67 now. 14 degree jump in 1 hour.

Sun popped out here and my temp has responded - up 6 in the past 15 minutes to 60. Southern parts of Lanco are already approaching 70.

It's currently 64 at MU and 53 here in Maytown.

I said on Thursday that I wouldn't be surprised if I reached 80 today. Did someone else say something about hitting 90? I don't remember seeing that.

55 here. Definitely thinking Monday is the upside potential day in regards to high temps.

Sunny and 53. Nice afternoon!

I knew it was close to lunchtime and I was thinking my wife was looking really good this morning. Alas - we won't be celebrating nooners here in the historic district today.