Philadelphia Snowfall Projects Falling, But Sleet and Freezing Rain Increasing

Winter precipitation is making its way up the Eastern seaboard, with Philadelphia expected to begin seeing impacts near the end of Saturday.

What that precipitation looks like when it arrives, and as it continues across the day Sunday, will determine just how bad the impacts are on the region.

The National Weather Service says snowfall projections are decreasing slightly, but that's because warmer air aloft will turn some of that precipitation into sleet and freezing rain. So the amount of moisture falling hasn't changed.

"There is high confidence in major impacts from snowfall, sleet, and ice accumulations across much of the area, making travel very difficult, and potentially resulting in widespread closures and infrastructure impacts. Widespread snow and sleet accumulations ranging from 4-8” in southern areas to 12-15” in northern areas. Around the I-95 corridor, 7-10” are expected. Snowfall rates near 1-2” per hour expected during the daytime period Sunday."

A narrow band essentially along the I-95 corridor will see the highest ice accumulations. Philadelphia proper should see significant snowfall overnight, with the potential for 8-12 inches of accumulation.

As we transition into daytime on Sunday, snowfall rates could hit 1-2 inches an hour.

Crossing over into New Jersey, snowfall impacts have fallen, but at the expense of additional sleet and freezing rain in the Southern part of the state. Along the coast, 4-6 inches of snow and sleet combination is expected, with impacts not as severe as initially expected.

After the storm moves through, things won't improve much for a while. Temperatures will remain in the 10s and 20s throughout the daytime all week, with wind chills at dangerously cold levels between -10 and 0 degrees.