After an unusually warm March in which the mercury has already topped 80 degrees more than once, flowers such as snowdrops are starting to bloom and cherry trees are almost in full bud (weeks earlier than normal) around the Saucon Valley and much of eastern Pennsylvania.
“Spring is in the air,” as the saying goes…
However, Mother Nature may be preparing to tell warm weather wishers “not so fast!”
This weekend’s forecast calls for much colder air to invade the area, and there could be accumulating snow on Sunday, March 20, which is the first day of spring.
According to a Thursday morning Facebook post by the National Weather Service Office at Mount Holly, N.J., “there is a greater than 50 percent chance of more than 2 inches of snow along and northwest of (the) Interstate 95 corridor Sunday into Monday” because of a developing coastal storm.
“This storm could have significant impact to the marine community and coastal residents,” the NWS warned, adding that further information about the potential for the storm to be a “high-impact” weather event will be posted later on Thursday.
Eastern PA Weather Authority was less aggressive in their assessment of the potential for an early spring snowstorm, stating in a post on their Facebook page Thursday that the storm is sending “mixed signals,” and Wednesday that “an east/offshore/miss track is still plausible.”
Pennsylvania Weather Action reported Wednesday that weather models were trending toward a scenario that could result in accumulating snow throughout much of eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
“Sunday Night is the timeframe with greatest potential to bring accumulating snow to southern and eastern Pennsylvania as temperatures will be the coldest and sun angle will not impact pavement,” PWA said. “With that said, temperatures have been extremely mild and this storm will need to be significant for roads to be affected.”
PWA said it will post an updated forecast on its Facebook page at 4 p.m. Thursday.
