Interesting Christmas Weekend Forecast For Pennsylvania

An interesting Christmas weekend forecast for Pennsylvania has been offered up by meteorologists: It could start and end with wintry weather, with a slight possibility of a white Christmas.

A round of light snow or freezing rain is predicted Thursday into Friday, forecasters say. A Hazardous Weather Outlook has been issued for Eastern Pennsylvania, including in Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties.

But here's the interesting part: there are early indications a coastal system with snow could make its way to the area Sunday, which is Christmas Eve, into Monday, Christmas Day.

Santa and the reindeer shouldn't panic just yet. "There is still a lot of uncertainty," the NWS said. Plus temperature predictions as of now — which call for highs in the 40s and lows above freezing — would indicate a whopping winter storm isn't in the cards this Christmas.

However, it all depends on the storm track and strength, as well as how fast colder air arrives, AccuWeather forecasters said.

"At this time, the most likely form of precipitation will be rain from Philadelphia to New York City. However, just enough cold air may be around in the swath from Washington, D.C., to near Boston for any form of precipitation, including snow, to occur," AccWeather said in a news release.

Area residents should carefully monitor the forecast, especially those with holiday travel plans.

Here is the forecast as of Wednesday afternoon:

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 26. North wind around 6 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Calm wind.

Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Light and variable wind becoming south around 6 mph in the morning.

Friday Night: Rain likely, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Saturday: Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Sunday: A chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Christmas Day: A chance of rain. Mostly sunny, with a high near 42. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 23.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 31.

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