Winter Weather Advisory Issued for Philly, Region

This map from the National Weather Service shows that big snowfalls are a possibility north of Philadelphia.

Remember Sunday, when it felt like spring in Philadelphia? That’s ancient history. Today’s forecast in the region? Freezing rain, sleet and snow.

So says the National Weather Service, which has issued a winter weather advisory for Philadelphia and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania, and Camden, Burlington, and Ocean counties in New Jersey. Freezing rain and sleet during the day is expected to turn to snow tonight, creating travel problems throughout the region.

“Overall precipitation amounts will be light but it doesn’t take much ice to cause slick conditions,” CBS Philly reports. “Expect little or no snow accumulation for Philly, a coating to 1″ in the NW suburbs and Lehigh Valley, and 1-3″ in the Poconos. A light ice accumulation is possible from Philly on north through the Poconos.”

Temps should start to warm up on Tuesday, but John Bolaris is warning of a “Valentine’s Day Ice Box” heading into the weekend.

“A bitter cold air mass will strike during the day on Thursday with rapidly falling temperatures and snow showers that could quickly coat the roads the morning of Friday the 13th,” Bolaris writes. “It will plummet to the single numbers in Philadelphia and near zero or below across our distant northern and western suburbs. Wind chill factors for the entire region will fall well below zero.”

So be careful today, then get ready for the weekend.