Brief Arctic Blast
By Justin Drabick
Yesterday's two-part storm dropped about ½ to 2 ½ inches of snow across the Delaware Valley and left us with very cold arctic air in its wake.
Like much of this winter, the cold air will not last very long. It all started with an area of low pressure passing well east of the mid-Atlantic coast on Saturday morning. Most of the moisture stayed offshore and light accumulations on the grass occurred.
Then, an arctic cold front moved through during the evening bringing some heavier snow showers, dropping another 1-2" across parts of the Delaware Valley. The front brought strong gusty winds with temperatures quickly falling through the 20s. This allowed the snow to accumulate and standing water to freeze on the roads.
The cold arctic air settled in Saturday night with lows down into the teens but the wind took wind chill values down into the single digits. After the snow ended, we were left with howling winds gusting over 40 mph through the night. High temperatures then struggled to make it into the low 30s, which is 10 degrees below average.
It will be another cold night tonight with lows in the lower 20s but the core of the arctic air is already moving off to the northeast. Temperatures will slowly moderate over the next few days as temperatures climb back above average by mid week.
