Daily Weather Pattern Discussion...Severe Last Night, Snow To Come!

Hello this is Junior Meteorologist Kyle Elliott with our daily weather pattern discussion...and I must apologize again for not posting the last few days as I have become very very busy with school once again. But strangely enough, with a fortunate turn of events, I have found the opportunity in school to post a discussion...so without further adue, I might as well get on with things. First, we had 1.05 inches of rain yesterday from morning to midnight last night...and .3 inches of rain in 10 minutes last night as a strong line of thunderstorms came racing across York County. I went out in the storm...which didn't have thunder and lightning...and let me tell you, it sure as heck was heavy!! Winds gusted to about 20-25 MPH, but the remarkable thing about that squall line was the heavy rain. It was some of the heaviest rain I've seen in a long time, and it definitely reminded me of heavy rain we experience from summer thunderstorms. As temperatures were in the 62-66 degre range when the storms blew through, it was actually quite enjoyable standing out in what turned out to be the heaviest downpour in the past 3-4 months. Very interesting...but anyways, let me get on with what's heading for our area the next 3-6 days or so. The main point for the next 5 days remains the same: even though the calendar says spring, look for winter-like weather to dominate the area until this coming Tuesday when the pattern shifts and warmth comes in for good. First, a clipper-like storm system will affect the region on Friday night and Saturday spreading snow across the entire state, especially near the Pennsylvania Turnpike. North of Interstate 80, no precipitation will occur as the storm remains too far south, and south of the PA Turnpike, snow will mix with rain as surface temperatures warm to above 35 degrees by early Saturday morning. Storm totals at this point are still "up in the air" so to speak, but best estimates at this point would keep storm totals in the 1-3 inch range near the Turnpike and the near one inch range along the Mason/Dixon Line. If colder air is present and the precipitation is heavier when the storm arrives around Midnight Friday night, more snow could fall especially between the PA Turnpike and the Mason/Dixon Line, but that does not look likely at this point. After that storm moves through, chilly winter-like air will move into the region on Sunday and Monday, but should then moderate quickly by Tuesday of next week. By the middle to late portion of next week, very warm and spring-like air will invade the state as highs could first reach the 70s for a few days. This is no guarantee at this point, but some models indicate that warmth could race into the region by Wednesday the 26th and stay for the rest of March and all throughout April. Of course after April, it is normally warm every single day, so the point I'm making is that after Easter, spring could come in for good and never look back. Before that, though, there have been rumors on a storm this Monday which I was almost sold on, but I'm glad I didn't bite on it because the models of this morning have backed off on the storm possibilities. So as of now, I just don't see any storm forming...so snow-lovers, hope for snow Friday night because after that, any chance of snow should be gone for good. In fact, surprisingly enough, my choice to give up on winter on February 23rd has so far turned out to be the right one as I have seen no snow at all at my house since then. So unless we get some snow in the next few days, my choice to give up on winter early this year will end up being the right one as temperatures ever since that date have been far above seasonal norms. So we will have to wait and see what transpires over the next few days, but my official forecast is some light snow Friday night into Saturday morning followed up by a two-day cold shot and spring after that. So that's about all I have time for for now, so hope ya'll have a great rest of your afternoon and I'll talk to ya'll later! This is Junior Meteorologist (Storm Tracker) Kyle Elliott reporting for the AKStormtracker Forecasting Center!