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Significant Snow To Be Followed By Brutally Cold Air

By Katie Fehlinger and Kate Bilo

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Delaware Valley will experience weather whiplash Tuesday with the arrival of a potent blast of Arctic air and a fresh round of significant snow. Yet another Alberta clipper system will streak across the Midwest into the mid-Atlantic, where it will gather some strength and moisture.

Where did this storm come from? Essentially, we're in the midst of a weather pattern conducive to last-minute, significant changes in terms of storm potential. This is a system that "showed its hand" with the early morning model runs Monday (which have continued to agree thus far in subsequent runs).

All the latest guidance seems to be in agreement with the idea of a stronger storm with more moisture, and thus higher snow amounts.

How Much Snow?

The track of the storm is everything. As it stands now, the Delaware Valley will sit on the northwest edge of the system. That means the storm may split our region in two. So Philadelphia, the surrounding suburbs and all points south and east likely see significant snow i.e. 5-10", locally.

The highest amounts will be just to the north of the storm's track, meaning Philadelphia, Delaware and South Jersey may end up in the bulls eye.  We are also now under a Winter Storm Warning.

The Lehigh Valley, Berks county and Pocono region should see totals around 3-5".

Tuesday Timing:

Mid-Morning: Snow is slowly arriving from west to east. (The morning rush should scrape by without any major issue.)

Late morning to early afternoon: Light snow overspreads the region.

Late afternoon to evening: Heaviest snow will fall, especially through southern New Jersey and Delaware. The evening drive will feature poor visibility, slow/slick travel and snow-covered roads.

Tuesday night to Wednesday morning: The storm slowly pulls away with snow ending from west to east.

Brutally Cold Air:

It's important that we don't minimize the impact of the cold that's coming. While the chill won't be as bitter as what we saw with the recent polar vortex, our temperatures will trend 15-20 degrees below normal through the rest of the work week. That means daytime highs won't climb any higher than the mid 20's. With the wind factored in, it likely feels no warmer than zero for part of Tuesday night and Wednesday.

** Heads up Pocono residents! The cold air will be especially vicious for you. Wind Chill Watches take effect Tuesday night for wind chill values that may bottom out as low as -20 degrees, i.e. dangerous cold **

Stay warm and safe!

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