The area could see the first measurable snowfall of the season this weekend, but the forecast isn’t set in stone as of Wednesday.
The central and lower portions of Bucks County sits squarely in what forecasters said was the area where a mix of rain and snow is most likely.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service expressed uncertainty about the storm’s exact impact, according to a Wednesday morning statement.
“There still remains quite a bit of uncertainty with this storm,” they said.
The coastal storm is expected to arrive Saturday night or Sunday.
In addition to precipitation, it will bring strong winds and potential coastal flooding.
Temperatures over the weekend are predicted to fluctuate between 32 and 41 degrees, a factor in determining whether the region will experience predominantly snow or rain.
If there is mostly snow, the storm could mark the first significant chance of snowfall this winter.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski warned of “major travel disruptions on the roads and at the airports” in the Northeast.
Sosnowski advised property owners to prepare for the storm by readying snow shovels, snow blowers, and ice-melting compounds.
Despite experiencing brief periods of snow and light accumulation over the past two years, Bucks County has not seen a major snowfall event in that time period.
La Niña’s has had an influence on the lack of snow over the past winters. Experts have said it resulted in unusually cool conditions in the eastern Pacific Ocean that impacted the jet stream’s path and has spared the Northeast from more severe winter storms.
Rutgers University geography professor and New Jersey state climatologist David Robinson said in a spring 2023 Associated Press article that he attributed the lack of significant snow in Northeast cities partly to human-induced climate change, which has led to warmer conditions.
Forecasters said that another big storm could arrive in the Philadelphia area in the middle of next week, bringing heavy rain and a risk of flooding.
