'Old Man Winter' To Return Next Week, Snow Possible: Forecasters

By Kara Seymour and Tom Davis:

First, the weather will tease us, as it always does, with a dose of warmth this weekend. Then the real winter is supposed to arrive, forecasters say — and it could hit Pennsylvania hard.

A pattern of cold air coming-and-going will continue be a “theme” for January, according to AccuWeather. That will mean chilly temperatures and a potential for snow.

“Old Man Winter is set to return next week,” Jonathan Carr of Weather NJ says. “On Monday, a cold front should pass through and keep our region cold (cold enough for snow) for as far as I can see into January.”

But Mother Nature will continue to trick us this weekend. The region will warm up slightly between Thursday and Sunday with several periods of rainfall and possibly some wind. “We’re not talking 70s like around Christmas but more like 50s,” forecasters say.

After Monday, however, it will be cold and favorable for winter storm development. Nothing specific is showing just yet, though.

A brief shift of the polar vortex will direct waves of cold air southward and will raise the chance of snow in the central and eastern United States that have experienced little cold or snow thus far this season, according to AccuWeather.

After record-breaking warmth in December, temperatures dipped to the single digits this past Monday and Tuesday, prompting a Code Blue weather emergency in many Philadelphia-area counties. But forecasters warn for residents to be prepared for a more significant blast of cold air next week.

Temperatures in the teens are predicted throughout Eastern Pennsylvania overnight on Monday. Tuesday will continue to be cold, with lows in the 20s.

Fast-moving, cold storms are expected to hit the Midwest this weekend. If one of these systems was to strengthen upon nearing the Atlantic coast, then there could be significant snow in the Interstate-95 corridor of the mid-Atlantic later next week, according to AccuWeather.

The jet stream will begin to form a steep trough over the eastern half of the country, acting as a “funnel for a portion of the Polar Vortex’s newly freed cold air,” according to nj.com.

In other words, this could happen on Monday, or it could happen later in the week, depending on what happens to the storm in the Midwest:

Others were more explicit in their descriptions:

As far as February is concerned, here is what Steven DiMartino, owner of NY NJ PA Weather says:

“This month is expected to be the stormiest and the coldest with another period of an amplified Polar jet stream and an active Sub Tropical jet stream. A major Arctic air mass invasion is likely.”