Little snow expected, but flood watch remains

Icy roads won't be a problem around Philadelphia tomorrow morning, but the region is in for yet another soggy, stormy night in the year of saturation.

A flood watch remains in effect until late tonight for the entire region, with perhaps an additional 3 inches of rain expected in some places. Winds could gust to 45 m.p.h. near the Shore.

Up to 2.5 inches of rain have soaked portions of Chester County, but no significant widespread flooding was reported, and based on traffic reports, road-ponding hasn't added to the standard evening commuting headaches.

As for snow, a winter-storm watch remains posted for the Lehigh Valley, but it appears that the immediate Philadelphia area will skate by with just a few flake sightings.

The colder air rushing in from the northwest is going to get here too late to turn much of the rain white, said Carl Erickson, a meteorologist with Accu-Weather Inc.

What is 100 percent certain is that the storm is going to add to 2011's prodigious precipitation record.

The 0.69 inches measured so far today at Philadelphia International Airport brings the total since Jan. 1 to a ridiculous 60.84 inches. That's 3-plus inches better than the 1996 calendar-year record for rain and melted snow and ice by better than 3 inches.

Through Nov. 30, Philadelphia also had set a 365-day record with 63.2 inches of precipitation, beating out the period that ended on March 31, 2010, 62.61.

Other members of the 365-day 5-footer club were the periods ending Oct. 1, 1933, 61.41; May 31, 1912, 60.54; May 10, 1939, 60.25, and May 21, 1873, 60.19.

Once the precipitation shuts off during the early-morning hours, it will be moderately cold into next week, with daytime temperatures in the 40s.

But it appears that snow-lovers will have to cool their heels for awhile. No snow threats are in sight, nor is any prolonged cold snap.

It is also worth noting that Philadelphia just experienced its fifth-warmest November on record.

In seasons coinciding with the 10-warmest Novembers before this one, snow was below average every season, and under 10 inches in three of them.

In short, don't expect a repeat of the last two winters.