Soaring Temps, Rain In New Year's Forecast In Eastern PA

EASTERN PA — After a powerful winter storm ripped across much of the nation and brought a lethal cold front to the greater Philadelphia area on Christmas Day, a more mild New Year's holiday looks to be in store.

Forecasters say that temperatures will continue to increase through the week and will reach a high of 54 on New Year's Eve and 60 on New Year's Day. This comes just days after the temperatures did not escape the teens in much of the southeastern part of the state.

Forecasters expect some rain in the region on New Year's Eve into Sunday. The rainstorm's severity remains uncertain this far out.

AccuWeather expects showers in most of Pennsylvania on New Year's Eve and then rain the following day.

AccuWeather predicts a New Year's Day high of 60 degrees in Philadelphia. The city logged a high of 18 on Saturday — 3 degrees colder than its previous Dec. 24 record from 1989, according to the weather platform.

New York City will endure similar trends, going from a Christmas high of 28 degrees to a forecasted high of 57 degrees on New Year's Day, per AccuWeather.

Last week's winter storm, meanwhile, continues to take its toll. The massive storm killed about 50 people across the nation, including at least 28 in the Buffalo, New York, area, which received up to 50.3 inches of snow.

Droves of air travelers across the nation remain stranded, with 2,986 trips canceled and 12,826 flights delayed as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to FlightAware. Southwest Airlines accounted for 2,573 of those cancelations, the flight-tracking website says.

Here's the latest forecast from the National Weather Service:

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 45. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday night

Mostly clear, with a low around 29. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 50. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph.

Thursday might

Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind.

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph.

Friday night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.

Saturday

Scattered showers. Cloudy, with a high near 54. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday night

Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 49. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

New Year's Day

Partly sunny, with a high near 60.

Sunday night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 40.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Josh Bakan