A MILD FEBRUARY
So far, so good. It’s been a fairly mild February, with only a handful of snowy or rainy days.
Of the first 15 days of February, all but four have hit above average high temperatures in Philadelphia. In fact, more days have hit the 50s or 60s—five days! That’s one third of our month in Philadelphia, so far.
Temperatures have even broken records for warmth. Just last week, February 8, Philadelphia set a new record high. The airport hit 66 degrees in the afternoon. Other towns like Atlantic City, Wilmington, and Allentown all broke records as well. This weekend, near record warmth hits the region again.
FIRST, A COOL AND WINDY FORECAST
Thursday is set to see cooler temperatures than Wednesday brought. Wednesday topped out in the low 50s across portions of Philadelphia. But a cold front passage in the evening ushered in cooler air and gusty conditions.
Thursday will see gusts up to 40 mph across the Tri-state area. The winds will make the low-40 highs feel more like the low 30s, and that’s in the afternoon! Thursday morning, temperatures will feel like the upper teens and low 20s in the counties surrounding Philly.
Take a look at the temperature anomaly forecast map from one computer model for Thursday afternoon. The blues indicate colder than average temperatures, the reds show off warmer than average temperatures.
Courtesy: Tropicaltidbits.com
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
The area won’t be much lower than average, but it will feel a lot cooler. The average high this time of year in Philadelphia is 44 degrees.
A QUICK WARM UP FOR THE WEEKEND
The cooler temperatures won’t last long. Here’s the temperature anomaly forecast map for Friday afternoon, and below that, the map by Sunday afternoon (18z is 1 p.m. our time).
Temperatures will climb to the mid 40s Friday (with lighter winds, so no issue with the “wind chill factor”). By Saturday, Philadelphia is forecast to hit 60 and by Sunday? The NBC10 First Alert weather team is expecting a high of 65 in Philly! The record for warmth on Sunday is 68 degrees, so not quite record-breaking, but close!
On top of that, it will be dry. Mostly sunny conditions are in the forecast across the region for both days.
Why the BIG jump in temperatures? It is, in fact, still February. Well, you can thank our friend “high pressure.” It’s often referred to as a dome by meteorologists—an area where active weather (like rain or snow) stays out, and temperatures can climb.
Even next Monday is looking warm, sticking to the upper 50s and low 60s around the I-95 corridor!
More on the next chance of rain (hint: it’s a while away) coming up later this week!
