This is when it gets serious.
The time for discussion and debate is ending.
Come midnight, the region will be in a winter storm warning, with a forecast of 6 to 10 inches of snow in the Lehigh Valley and northwest New Jersey, the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, reports. The warning expires at 4 p.m. Thursday, the weather service said.
“Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous,” the weather service said in its statement. “Only travel in an emergency.”
Many roads will be impassable during “the worst part of the storm,” the weather service said.
“Widespread” power outages are likely as snow burdens tree limbs and electric lines, the weather service said. It’s a good time to check your emergency kit. Do you have a functioning flashlight? if you must drive, do you have food, water and a way to stay warm in case you get stuck?
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Make clear, this isn’t last year’s 32-incher. But it’s still a very serious snowstorm. If it reaches the high end, it will be a relatively rare weather event for this area. The Feb. 9 record since 1922 in the Lehigh Valley is 5 inches in 1936, the weather service said.
This is a fast-moving storm that could make things miserable between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. with as much as an inch or 2 of snow falling per hour, according to various forecasts.
Daily forecast video for Wednesday February 8th, 2017
It should start as a mix of sleet and snow about midnight in the Interstate 78 corridor and quickly turn to all snow, WeatherWorks meteorologist Joe Martucci said Wednesday morning.
Wednesday’s daytime high of 53 — the local record is 59 in 1965 — will be long forgotten as a cold front “sags” over Pennsylvania, Bobby Martrich from Eastern PA Weather Authority said in his morning forecast video.
“Some of you are probably dumbfounded … trying to imagine how in the world we are going to get snow just a day removed from the upper 50s to near 60 degrees,” Martrich said. “But it is going to happen.”
Temperatures will be in the 20s by the time the heavy snow arrives, the weather service said.
There is nothing to block the storm, so it will quickly move out and could be done by 9 a.m. — at the latest by noon, Martucci said.
When it is over, a “reasonable low end” of accumulation would be 4 inches, but the forecast is 6 to 10 inches, Martucci said. The snow will start wet and heavy and transfer to powder as the storm continues and the temperature drops, he added.
Lehigh Valley in winter storm watch
With sunrise comes winds from the north 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30, the weather service said. That could lead to drifting and refreezing as the day becomes night, Martucci said.
The sun could begin its job of melting snow Thursday afternoon, but Friday will be below freezing, Martucci said. A Clipper could bring as much an another inch Friday night into Saturday morning, Martucci said. But highs in the 40s on Saturday and Sunday — along with rain on Sunday — could take care of some of the snow, he added.
Forecasts are not yet concrete, Martucci and Martrich said. WeatherWorks was at a “medium-high confidence” about 7 a.m. with high confidence it will be a strong storm. Martrich was talking about the possibility of the “jackpot” area moving father south in one of the models, something that should firm up later in the day.
“We’ll have to wait and see how the models play with this,” he said in the video. “Somebody here is going to get hit pretty hard.”
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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