Schools close, city prepares for first winter storm of 2025
In recent winters, we've been fortunate to not have a lot of snow. However, it looks like 2025 wants to be a little different.
Less than a week into the New Year, the Philadelphia region is bracing for it's first storm, as the flakes started to fall Monday morning at the start of rush hour.
Forecasters are calling for anywhere from about 1-3 inches in parts of the city, to more than six inches in Northern Delaware and down at the New Jersey shore. Points north and northwest of Philadelphia are expecting less accumulation, maybe an inch or two as Winter Storm Blair, which has crippled a large swath of the nation, makes it's final stop in the mid-Atlantic on Monday.
Slippery road conditions are expected and the afternoon rush hour commute is expected to be even slower than usual as people carefully traverse the slick roads.
Things worth considering for tomorrow: Dry air north of Philly will reduce snowfall totals, with a potential afternoon lull. Southern areas will see the heaviest snow. In DE & SNJ, sleet/freezing rain could briefly lower totals tomorrow PM before another push of snow. @6abc pic.twitter.com/gCj8dziTx7
— Payton Domschke (@PaytonDomschke) January 5, 2025
The impending storm was enough for the City of Philadelphia to close all government offices on Monday and the school district to close all public schools. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will also close their school buildings, but will have virtual learning - what the Archdiocese refers to as Flexible Instruction Days - for their students. The city will still have trash pickup and recycling collection, in areas where they are scheduled, on Monday.
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for seven counties in the southern part of the state - Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem.
Once the storm moves out of the area, cold temperatures and wind will persist for several days. According to AccuWeather, Tuesday's high will be 32 with strong gusty winds nearing 40mph. The wind will continue into Wednesday and Thursday bringing wind chills, at times, down into the single digits. Not until Friday are we expected to get above freezing and have the wind die down, so prepare for a cold, blustery week.
