[Photo by avocadoh]
ACCUWEATHER: Two parts of a snowstorm have come together in the Northeast and are making for several hours of wild weather tonight. The result of the merging parts is bursts of heavy snow in some areas and rain changing to heavy snow in others in the eastern mid-Atlantic. What happens in this situation is road surface temperatures typically cool during the late afternoon and evening hours, while heavy, wet snow (and sleet) takes additional heat out of the roads. The result is a rapid covering of slippery snow. AccuWeather.com meteorologists are expecting a total snowfall of 8 to 16 inches in a swath from just north of Washington, D.C. through New York City, all the way to Boston. MORE
INQUIRER: The region was well braced for an attack from nature, but what happened Wednesday qualified was an all-out ambush. Snow started spreading across the region before daybreak, accumulating up to a half foot by lunchtime, surprising highway crews and meteorologists. And that was the appetizer before the main event that got under way after dark. Several inches of fresh, wind-driven snow, incited by “thundersnow” downpours, fell upon parts of the region. On Thursday, some areas are going to be shoveling their way out of a foot of snow. The night attack was expected. The morning was something else. “Thundersnow,” is literally a snow thunderstorm. Thunderstorms are caused by violently rising air that condenses into precipitation and sets off lightning. They are more common in spring and summer when more heating is available, but they can occur during winter storms and can deposit 2 to 5 inches in just an hour. MORE
RELATED: In anticipation of the snow emergency, the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) has announced a two-day parking discount beginning after Wednesday, January 26 at 4:00 p.m. and ending on Friday, January 28 at 7:00 a.m. Individuals can park at PPA owned and operated center city garages and will be charged a $5.00 flat rate per day. Parking garages are located at:
- Auto-Park at JFK (16th & JFK)
- Auto-Park at Independence Mall (5th & Market)
- Auto-Park at Jefferson (10th & Ludlow)
- Auto-Park at Gallery Mall (10th & Filbert)
- Auto-Park at 8th & Filbert
- Auto-Park at Old City at 2nd and Sansom MORE