Feb 8, 2010 10:54 PM Posted by: Doug Kammerer
Once again our region is facing down yet another big snowstorm. This season has been simply amazing. We have had a few small storms, which is normal, but to have three huge storms is just phenomenal. We are currently sitting above 56 inches for the season which is almost three times our average winter. The snowiest season ever was back in 95-96, that season saw 65.5 inches of snow and it was thought that we may never see that much again. Well here it comes, I think we are going to shatter that record over the rest of the season and we should beat it with this next storm.
Our next storm will move into the region on Tuesday evening. Snow will overspread the area between about 6 and 9pm. It may be moderate to heavy at times Tuesday night, but it should lighten up toward Wednesday morning. At that time it may also mix with rain and sleet to the south and east of Philly. If your area sees any mixing than you snow totals may be down a bit.
Cold air will return into the system as the day goes on however and by late afternoon everyone will be back to all snow. Accumulations will once again be big. I am expecting 12-18 inches of snow for a majority of the area with 6-12 inches of snow toward the coast due to the mixing.
Winds will once again be a problem as well. There are still thousands of people without power toward the shore and there will be many more problems there as our storm strengthens just off the coast. There will be more power lines and trees down as the weight of the snow and ice piles up. If you live in that area, please be careful driving or walking around.
This is going to be another big storm and a dangerous one as well. Roads will be a problem, roofs may cave in and we will see more people without power.
Stay tuned to CBS 3 everyone! We will keep you ahead of the storm and we will have extended coverage as well. Feb 6, 2010 11:40 PM
Posted by: Doug Kammerer
I am so tired right now! I have been up since about 6am this morning and I am now getting ready to do the 11pm news. Adrenaline is an amazing thing. As the snow came down my adrenaline level just kept going up. Today was absolutely amazing. I thought we may be in the record books after this storm, but there is no way I would have predicted 28.5 inches. I thought maybe 23-24" in Philly at the most, which still would have been number one all time in February, but we shattered the old record of 23.1". Not only was it the biggest storm in February, it was also the 2nd biggest storm of all time in Philadelphia, second only to the Blizzard of 1996. I think the most amazing thing about this storm and this winter is that the number three storm was the one we saw just two months ago in December when we recorded 23.2". Simply Amazing! If you add those two storms together and a few other small storms you get over 56" of snow for the season which is number 2 in the record books.
There were many locations across the area that received more than two feet of snow. I am calling them the two foot club. Ridley Park in Delaware County comes in at the top with 30 inches of snow, but places like Pennsauken and Cherry Hill also saw more than two feet.
People told me all day that they are now sick of the snow and they want to know when things will get better. Well, there is the big question big I think we will see more snow in the forecast and it is coming again SOON. I am looking at another storm which will take shape during the day on Tuesday and Wednesday. There are still a lot of questions for this next storm, but I think this one will get many kids out of school. Stay tuned to our forecasts here on CBS 3. We will keep you updated on the latest information. Thank for staying with us! Feb 4, 2010 10:55 PM Posted by: Doug Kammerer
Here we go again! We have already seen one major storm in our area this winter and some areas have seen two, as parts of Delaware and New Jersey saw 6-10 inches just this past weekend, but here comes another one. This is a monster storm and it means business. I have been predicting weather for more than a decade and I have been watching the weather ever since I can remember and in my 34 years of life, I can only remember four storms that have brought two feet of snow to parts of the area that I lived in. One of those was in DC as a kid, another was in Colorado in College, then of course the Blizzard of '96 and the last one was the December storm of last year. Well we are predicting nearly two feet in some areas to the south of Philadelphia.
Most of the area is going to see significant accumulation from this storm. If you have plans on Saturday, you may just want to try and change them to Sunday. Saturday is going to be nasty, especially early. I think it is going to be worse than the December storm, not for the snow, but for the wind! The winds are going to be brutal. Blizzard Warnings have already been posted for our shore counties as we could see winds gusting to 50 mph along and near the coast. The winds will be bad inland as well with gusts to 45 mph even in Philly. We could see blizzard conditions in and around Philadelphia as well. Some areas will even see more snow than they saw in the December storm, although I seriously doubt that we will see more than the 23.2" we saw in Philly.
All in all, this makes for a Nasty forecast. Even as I write this, I am still trying to figure out the latest numbers and accumulations and I am still feeling pretty good about our numbers. OK, have to get back on air, enjoy it everyone and I will try to give one more blog by tomorrow evening, but you can always check our latest forecasts at CBS3.com. Feb 3, 2010 10:44 PM
Posted Doug Kammerer
We saw a storm on Saturday, we saw a storm on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning and now we will see another storm this Friday into Saturday and this one will be bigger than the first two combined. We are set up for a Major winter storm to move into the region starting on Friday night. There are still a lot of uncertainty with this storm as to just how far north the snow gets, but many areas will see over a foot of snow. There will be a pretty tight gradient with this storm in regards to snowfall. Some areas may see a foot while others just 50 miles to the north only get a few inches.
Right now I think that there is a good chance that areas within 20 miles north of Philly and everyone south of Philly will see close to a foot of snow. Some locations in central Delaware and south Jersey could see 15 inches or more. To the north however there looks will be much less. Right now I am thinking that there will be an area of about 4-8 inches from Reading toward the Lehigh Valley and up to the Poconos. This could change and most likely will change over the next 24 to 48 hours. If the storm tracks 50 miles to the north than our snow totals go way up, if it tracks further to the south than our totals go south as well.
I never really like to give snow totals too early with snow events, there is just too much that can change. The best snow totals are normally given about 24 hours out from the start of the event, so we should have a pretty good handle on things during the shows tomorrow afternoon and night. I am confident though that someone in our area will see more than a foot of snow. This storm will be another major storm in the area and it will raise our snowfall amounts for the winter significantly, but there is still more snow out there. Another storm could give us even more snow during the middle of next week and I expect this cold and snowy trend to continue!
Stay tuned to CBS 3 for the latest as we will always keep you updated. Feb 1, 2010 10:51 PM The well advertised stormy pattern in February gets underway late Tuesday evening. Two storms will merge over the region giving everyone a good chance for snow. Storm one will move out of the south with most of its moisture remaining offshore. Storm two will move in from the west, this storm will also have little moisture to work with, but as they come together the snow will fall. Right now it is not looking as if we will see a lot from this storm and I doubt if we will see any advisories.
I am thinking that there should be a general 1-2 inches across the region, some areas will get a little less while others may get a little more. This will not be a big storm, but it could have an impact on Wednesday morning's rush hour so we do need to watch it closely.
Our next storm is the one to watch. This storm will move into the region on Friday afternoon and it will have PLENTY of moisture along with it. There are still big questions as to whether it will move far enough to the north to affect Philadelphia and points to the north, but right now I think it has a pretty good chance to do so. Once again it looks like our southern areas will see the most snow from this next system. It looks to start during the late afternoon on Friday and continue through the day on Saturday. Saturday seems to be the day for snow so far this winter and this Saturday will be no different. I know it is early, but I think that some locations in our area could easily see 6-12" of snow from this next system. The best chance of this right now looks to be to the south, but that will change. If you have plans for this weekend STAY TUNED! This one could be fun. Jan 31, 2010 11:14 PM
Posted by: Doug Kammerer
I think it could be just that, a stormy February. Believe it or not, January actually ended up above normal for temperatures and below normal for precipitation. I think February will be the opposite. Right now it looks like we may be near or below normal for temperatures and above normal for precipitation with a good chance of seeing a few snow storms. I have been talking about this since mid December and it looks like it is going to happen.
The pattern has shifted once again and it is looking to be fairly similar to the pattern that set up in December and we all know what happened then. Right now there are two chances for snow in the forecast, one of them will bring light snow if anything at all while the other could be another one to watch out for.
The first system to move in will be late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. Right now I am thinking that there will be some light accumulation with maybe a dusting to an inch in some locations. This will not be a big snowfall, but the timing may be a problem as it could impact Wednesday morning's rush hour. The next storm however is the one to watch! The southern jet stream has been extremely active and it will be once again this week. A strong system will move into the western portion of the US and track right across the southern states. As it moves east it will pick up plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and encounter plenty of cold air from Canada. The question once again is just how far north does this system get. Right now it looks to slide to our south during the day on Saturday, which could still give us snow, but our totals would be lower with portions of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and south Jersey once again seeing the biggest snowfall totals. The is a pretty good chance though that this one will make it a little further to the north than Saturday's storm. That could mean bigger totals for the Philadelphia region. Again, this storm will have plenty of moisture and some areas (if this comes together) could get a foot or more of snow. Once again the question is who?? Will it stay south or move toward our region. Only time will tell, but I think this one has a lot of potential. Once again this storm looks to affect the weekend with the best chance for snow occurring on Saturday afternoon into early Sunday morning. Stay tuned as I will be watching this one very carefully. Jan 25, 2010 9:03 PM Damage and flooding reports came pouring into the weather center this morning as a potent cold front crossed the region. 1.61 inches of rain fell in Trenton, NJ today, the most of amount of rain on this day in over 30 years. Meanwhile, large trees and wires came crashing down in many neighborhoods as winds whirled between 30 and 50 mph. Philadelphia Intl. airport reported a peak wind gust of 62 mph, which is tropical storm strength. High winds also pushed a tractor trailer to overturn on the Walt Whitman Bridge causing traffic to pile up for miles as heavy rains fell. In addition, many roads were under several feet of water as creeks and streams quickly rose above their banks. On a side note, the high temperature of 61 degrees today in Philadelphia was the highest temperature in January in over two years.
We certainly had enough to talk about with this system but the weather will calm down over the next few days. As Annie said, "the sun will come out tomorrow" and look for winds to diminish as colder air rushes back into the Delaware Valley. Our next focus will be a potential snowstorm which could affect us as early as Friday so stay tuned! Jan 21, 2010 9:49 PM
Posted by: Doug Kammerer
So this latest storm is a dud as most of us will not see much at all, if anything from our Friday morning storm. The best chance of seeing some precipitation looks to be in Southern Delaware and extreme south Jersey. Those areas should see mainly rain with a possible mix as well, although I do not foresee too many problems on area roads, there could still be a few slick spots.
The next storm however is one that will affect everyone, although this time around it will be an all rain event. Some areas though and actually most areas will see a lot of rain during the afternoon on Sunday and into Monday morning. Many areas will see over an inch of rain as well and Monday commute could be a tough one. This next storm will have plenty of moisture along with plenty of warm air. We will most likely see our warmest temperatures of the year late Sunday night and early Monday morning. Some locations could even see 60 degrees.
If you have plans for the weekend it looks like Saturday is the day to get things done. Saturday and actually the second half of Friday should be pretty nice. We will see clouds departing the area late Friday and Saturday should be mostly sunny. It will be cool, but still not too bad.
After next weeks storm, I see us getting back to the colder weather with our next storm on the horizon for late next week. Have a great one everyone. Jan 20, 2010 10:07 PM
Posted by: Doug Kammerer
Our next storm is looking like a miss across most of the region. At least I don't think it is going to cause too many problems in the way of snow and ice. There is still a lot of uncertainty with this next storm system. Uncertainty is nothing new, but this storm is a little tougher than most. As is normally the case with our winter storm, precipitation type is the biggest question. 20 miles to the north or south makes a huge difference with respect to rain or snow and to those who may get nothing at all.
This storm is making it's way toward us from California along a swift jet stream that is racing across the country. The flow with this jet stream is fairly zonal, meaning that it is fairly straight from west to east. We would need some northerly flow of that jet stream in the eastern part of the country in order for the storm to move our way. I don't see that happening. I think that most of the storm will miss us to the south.
That isn't to say that we won't see anything across our area. Actually I still see a good chance of some snow in our southern areas and that could include Philadelphia. The biggest threat of precipitation will be in southern Delaware and extreme south Jersey. Here I see more of a rain event as temperatures will be just a little above freezing a lot and well above freezing at the surface. To the north, I really do not see much at all. There may not even be a flurry in the Lehigh valley, but there could be a lot of moisture just to the south. That is why the position of this system is so critical. Just a little jaunt to the north would bring more snow to Philly and the suburbs and more rain to southern areas.
Once again this is one that we will really have to watch over the next 24 to 36 hours. We could still see a few changes here, but all in all, I still do not see this one as a big storm for most of the region. Have a great day and stay tuned. Jan 18, 2010 11:14 PM We saw a beautiful day on Monday and although it will have more cloud cover, Tuesday should be pretty nice as well. Highs on Tuesday will still be above normal and I am predicting a high near 48 degrees. That is about 10 degrees above average. Those warm temperatures will not last long however as a cold front will move through the region late Tuesday. Highs on Wednesday, although still above normal, will be on the cold side with a high near 42 degrees. Thursday right now is looking pretty good. It will still be chilly, but it should still be about 5 degrees above average with plenty of sunshine. Typically, this is the coldest time of year in our area. The average high temperature in Philadelphia is just 38 degrees. By Friday, a lot of questions start to work their way into the forecast. A storm system will move toward the area bringing with it the chance for rain and maybe snow as well. The big question is just how much cold air will be in place as the storm moves over the region. There is a pretty good chance that some areas may pick up some significant snowfall. Right now, I think the best chance of snow would be to the north of Philadelphia with points to the south picking up mostly rain. That forecast is likely to change though over the next few days. This storm is going to be one to watch and we will be sure to watch it for you right here at CBS 3. Have a great one everybody, Doug Kammerer CBS 3 Meteorologist | |
