October Snow! Oh No!

This morning, forecasters have upped the alarms about Saturday bringing a rare heavy October snowfall – and possible power outages.

Today, the city should be sunny with a high in the mid 50s, then temperatures falling into the 30s again overnight. Chester, Montgomery and Bucks Counties could see freezing overnight, the National Weather Service warns. Thursday evening, the temperature dipped into the 30s for the first time since April.

Expect rain beginning tomorrow morning in Philadelphia, from a storm system moving up the East Coast. With an inch or two expected. As cold air moves in by Saturday evening, a changeover to snow is expected, possibly even in Philadelphia and nearby parts of South Jersey, with temperatures expected to dip into the low 30s across the region.

Most likely to see one to three inches of heavy, wet snow are areas north of Philadelphia. Five or six inches can be expected in Berks and Lehigh Counties and beyond, according to a weather service map.

Areas south of that might expect more of a rain-snow mix, or even just continued rain, according to the agency. The snow prediction map calls for an inch in Philadelphia’s immediate suburbs, less in the city.

The AccuWeather forecast for the city calls for 1.5 inches of snow, while only rain is mentioned by the weather service.

Without prolonged subfreezing temperatures, any snow in the city, though, is most likely to just make roads wet or slushy. The timing is also favorable for PennDOT crews – no conflicts with rush hour.

“We’ll be able to get a lot more work done a lot quicker,” said spokesman Charles Metzger.

 The big worry is power outages where heavy snow clings to leaves, causing limbs to snap and even trees to topple, from West Virginia to Maine.

“If the storm develops to its full potential, thousands of trees could come down, and over a million people could be without power,” AccuWeather’s Alex Sosnowski writes.

Peco isn’t panicking. “We are prepared to respond to any problems that arise from this storm,” said spokewoman Liz Williamson.

Winds should be 10 to 15 m.p.h., with gusts up to 20, “so they won’t be a significant impact,” Kline said.

Although ice might be a problem in the northern trouble spots, “temperatures should warm fairly quickly Sunday morning,” Kline said.

Sunday’s forecast calls for sun with highs in the low 50s.

Monday should see highs in the 50s, with a bit more cloud cover.

Source: Peter Mucha, Inquirer Staff Writer