Posted 9:30 AM Wednesday, April 21, 2021
And, there it is. Snow. I measured a compacted inch and a quarter on my patio table/snowboard this morning. A couple of reports from website users that came in early this morning mentioned that snow came down at a hefty rate around New Phila for a time.
The more intense snowfall has shifted off to our east as of 8:00 AM. We will probably see a little more light snow showers today possibly mixed with rain. Any additional accumulation will be confined to elevated surfaces and grassy areas. Some locations could see an additional half-inch of very wet gloppy snow.
Temperatures today will stay cold. The normal high temperature for today’s date in New Phila is 65° but we’ll be much colder than that. Most neighborhoods in the area won’t warm much more than around 36°/38° this afternoon. And, it will turn breezy with a gusty northwest wind. Some gusts this afternoon could be in the 20/25 mph range. With the breeze and cold air in place, today’s temperatures will feel like the upper-20s.
Temperatures overnight will get down to the mid-20s area-wide. A Freeze Warning is in effect for tonight so if you have any flowers or plants out, you’ll need to bring them indoors the next couple of nights.
Thursday will bring some sunshine back but it will remain chilly and breezy. As the winds back off Thursday night temperatures will dip to around freezing once again. Look for frost/freeze advisories to be posted again for tomorrow night.
TEMPERATURES QUICKLY RECOVER
High pressure will keep dry and mostly sunny weather in the Valley Friday into Saturday morning. Low pressure will move through the lower Ohio Valley and bring increasing odds for rain for our area Saturday afternoon and night. That system will push off to the east coast by Sunday morning allowing skies to clear and sunshine to return.
Temperatures through the weekend will return to near-season averages. Highs locally Friday through Sunday will generally hover around 60° – give or take a couple of degrees.
NEXT WEEK
A big pattern shift gets underway early next week as a large upper-level ridge of high pressure builds into the Ohio Valley. This will likely set up a mainly southerly flow over eastern Ohio that will pump in much warmer air. Temperatures here in the Valley will warm to the upper-70s by Tuesday. Wednesday could very well bring daytime highs around 80°.
By then we will all forget about the stupid snow this morning.
