Clouds will increase through the day as a powerful winter storm lifts from the central Mississippi River Valley towards the Great Lakes by this evening.  As a result, clouds will increase through the day and winds will shift to the southeast at 5 to 15 mph.  Temperatures this afternoon will rise into the lower to mid 40′s over the interior and mid to upper 40′s along the coast.

This low pressure system, which has plenty of deep moisture, will produce periods of heavy rain tonight through tomorrow morning for much of the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan areas.  However, for the far northern interior the precipitation will start as a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain leading to snow accumulations of up to 6 inches and ice accumulations up to a 0.25 inches.  Temperatures tonight will crash into the lower to mid 30′s over the interior and mid to upper 30′s along the coast.

All frozen precipitation will change over to rain by the middle of the morning and continue through the early afternoon.  Winds will back from the southeast to the northwest at 10 to 20 mph with gusts over 40 mph.  Temperatures will rise into the upper 30′s to lower 40′s over the far northern interior, mid to upper 40′s to the north and northwest of the major cities, and lower to mid 50′s along the coast.

High pressure will take control tomorrow afternoon through Monday with tranquil weather conditions along with light and variable winds.  Temperatures will slowly fall to below normal levels through the weekend as colder air builds into the region.  Temperatures on Thursday will range from the mid to upper 30′s for lows and mid 40′s to lower 50′s for highs.  Temperatures on Friday through Monday will range from the upper 20′s to mid 30′s for lows and upper 30′s to mid 40′s for highs.