Wet, Windy Christmas: 'Potent' Storm To Hit Pennsylvania Christmas Week

By Jason Koestenblatt and Kara Seymour:

Now it’s beginning to look a lot like a wet —and windy—Christmas. With a ’potent’ storm to boot.

Forecasters say a major storm could deliver heavy rain and strong winds to New Jersey and Pennsylvania by the time Christmas comes, impacting travelers.

The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for northeastern and southeastern Pennsylvania, saying a strong low-pressure system will bring heavy rain and gusty winds on Christmas Eve. The Hazardous Weather Outlook also covers the entire state of New Jersey.

WeatherWorks meteorologist Sam DeAlba told nj.com that “a pretty potent storm” could bring heavy rain and wind on Christmas Eve, but she doesn’t believe snow will be a factor.

“While details including timing, track and exact precipitation type for the storms have yet to be determined, the storms will bring enough precipitation to slow travel as they move along,” according Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com.

The first storm is expected to hit New Jersey and Pennsylvania on Sunday and run north. The storm is expected to strengthen but it is unknown how for north the storm will travel.

A second, albeit weaker storm is expected to bring snow and freezing rain from Washington, D.C., to Boston early next week. If the storm becomes stronger, it could unload heavy snow through New Jersey with wind and freezing rain on the coast.

According to Long-Range Expert Mark Paquette, “While not all of these storms will be a snow threat for the major travel hubs in the Midwest and Northeast, there does not have to be arctic air in place for them to bring at least some snow and ice problems.”

Weather Channel Meteorologist Ari Sarsalar said the forecasts show the strong possibility of a messy Christmas.

“There is going to be a powerful storm system in either the central or eastern part of the country,” he said, “that has the potential to drop a lot of rain and maybe even a lot of snow.