Snow arrives in the Philly region, and the morning commute could be slick

Light snow moved into the region on Monday, potentially signaling the end of Philly’s 700-plus day snow drought. It’s been nearly two years since the city has tallied a full inch of snow at Philadelphia International Airport.

“Not a big storm, not a huge storm,” said Dave Dombek, senior meteorologist for AccuWeather. Still, “anything is more than what we’ve had.”

The National Weather Service expected 2 to 4 inches to fall in the Philly region, with higher totals closer to Lehigh Valley and lower totals on the New Jersey side of the metro area, by the time it ends Tuesday afternoon. The bulk of snow was expected to fall overnight, and a winter weather advisory for the region is in effect through 1 p.m. Tuesday.

By Monday evening, the snow was falling steadily and sticking to the ground.

Temperatures were expected to stay below freezing overnight.

“It’s going to make for some slick road conditions, some slippery travel,” Dombek said. Early-morning commuters on Tuesday — those out between 5 and 6 a.m. — were expected to face the toughest conditions. Over the course of the morning, roads are likely to transition from slippery to slushy and wet, with conditions likely to improve first south and east of the city, and last in the northern and western suburbs.

PennDot said the roads had been brined and advised commuters that working from home might be a good option for Tuesday.

A growing list of suburban schools in the region announced delays or closures for Tuesday. The Philadelphia School District, however, said it would operate on a normal schedule Tuesday but excuse late arrivals. Archdiocese of Philadelphia school buildings in the city will be closed, with a virtual instruction day for students. Archdiocese schools in the suburbs typically follow their corresponding district.

With a cold ground, and temperatures in the upper 20s across the region, the dryness of the air was the primary factor that prevented the initial snow Monday from sticking. Once the air moistened, snowfall was expected to accumulate, said Amanda Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at the Mount Holly office.

The last month has seen two to three times more precipitation in the Philly area than normal, according to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, but temperatures have been too high for snow, resulting instead in repeated flooding from the storms.

The weather service determined through careful investigation that 0.1 inch of snow fell at the airport last weekend, meaning this will not be the most snowless season on record. Still, it’s been almost two years without measurable snowfall. The last snowfall of more than an inch ended on Jan. 29, 2022, when 7.5 inches was measured at the airport. That storm — officially a bomb cyclone — brought snow and high winds to the Shore and the surrounding area. Philadelphia declared a snow emergency at the time.

Perhaps this will be the end of the snow drought. This week is forecast to be freezing, so whatever snow falls will likely stick around, Dombek said. Temperatures aren’t likely to rise above the mid-20s. On Friday there’s another system moving through that could result in more snow, according to the National Weather Service.

“Not only are we getting our first significant snow of the season, we’ve got a stretch of pretty cold weather coming up. It feels like winter,” Dombek said. “It is winter.”