Spring is here, which usually means baseball, daffodils and a reprieve from the cold.
But AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines said Berks residents longing for spring will have to hold on a little longer.
A storm moving across the country could arrive in Berks late tonight, leaving 2 to 4 inches of snow before tapering off Monday afternoon.
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Spring may be just around the corner, but winter weather is still here.
A heavy, wet snow that will start early this morning and end about midnight is expected to drop 2 to 4 inches on Berks County, according to forecasters with AccuWeather near State College.
“The snow will be heavy and mixed with rain,” said Mike Pigott, an AccuWeather senior meteorologist. ”It’s going to be that backbreaking kind of slushy snow that’s hard to clean up.”
The temperature is expected to drop to 32 degrees tonight, so icy patches on roads are likely into Thursday morning, Pigott said.
Winter Storm December 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Meteorologists are watching a low pressure system with the potential to bring a major winter storm with blizzard conditions next week to the mid-Atlantic, including the Lehigh Valley.
But don’t go altering travel plans just yet, because it also could just blow out to sea.
AccuWeather, a private forecasting company in State College, says there are indications the jet stream next week could form into an upward loop, similar to a an upside “U” or the Greek letter omega, and drop an “atmospheric bomb” on the mid-Atlantic.
AccuWeather.com’s expert senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski says the system could bring “a foot or more of wind swept snow, travel mayhem, power outages and the whole nine yards with a storm hugging the coast. Or, he says, it could just turn into “another non-event with the storm heading out to sea.”
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Berks County managed to mostly duck a storm that pummeled much of the northeast, dumping mountains of snow on New York and New England.
“Generally speaking, we got out pretty easy compared to farther northeast,” said Alan Reppert, a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather near State College.
Reppert said Friday night that the snow falling in Berks was expected to taper off between midnight and 2 a.m., leaving behind about 3 inches in most parts of the county. Winds were expected to pick up overnight, he said, gusting up to 40 mph. And temperatures were set dip into the 20s, with an expected high today of 30 degrees.
Berks County could get a taste of snow this week.
Forecasters are expecting a slushy accumulation Tuesday. The snow, expected to amount to 1 to 2 inches, should start between midnight and 4 a.m. and end during the afternoon, said Mike Pigott of AccuWeather near State College.
But it’s not likely to stick around.
“A lot of it will actually melt on the roadways, but there could be a slushy coating,” Pigott said.
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Almost a year after a freak Halloween snowstorm buried Berks County, utility companies are preparing for the possibility of more rare weather: a hurricane that forecasters say could cause trouble here early next week.
Hurricane Sandy was still a long way off northeast of Cuba on Thursday, but it seemed to be heading this way with strong winds and heavy rain that could bring flooding, property damage and power outages, AccuWeather said.
There could be wind gusts of at least 50 mph and several inches of rain, meteorologist Tom Kines said.
The worst case is that it continues on its current northward track, while the best case is that it heads east out to sea, resulting in only a normal rainstorm, he said. If severe weather comes, it will most likely arrive Monday night or early Tuesday.
Reading Eagle: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=423464
Trees fell, fires ignited and power lines came down Sunday as Berks County was hit by a thunderstorm that swept across the state bringing heavy winds, rain and lightning.
The heaviest part of the storm passed through the county between 5 and 6 p.m. It was followed by a spate of radio traffic from the 9-1-1 center dispatching emergency responders to deal with reported fallen trees around the county, and one case of a tree catching fire after it was struck by lightning, according to dispatchers.
The violent weather was caused by cool air hitting the hot and humid air that had been sitting over Berks the last few days, AccuWeather forecaster Erik Pindrock said.
Image via Wikipedia
AccuWeather is predicting this cold weather will last until at least Christmas. We have two opportunities for snow this week. There is a possibility we could have some snow tonight and again on Friday. Friday seems to be the most likely of the two days for snow, depending on the temperature. We will be experiencing highs in the 30′s and lows flirting with the teens! Hopefully the prediction for a January thaw is correct!
