Winter storm watch for 2-4 inches of snow

A developing coastal storm is set to bring some snow across portions of southeastern Pennsylvania on Monday night into Tuesday.

There is still a lot of uncertainty over just how much will fall where, but northern parts of the region are likely to see at least a few inches, according to the latest snowfall projections from the National Weather Service.

In Berks County, a winter storm watch for 2 to 4 inches of snow will take effect from midnight Monday until 6 p.m. Tuesday. The storm could produce heavy snow and wind gusts up to 35 mph, according to the weather service.

Still, the weather service notes that “confidence is lower” that the snowfall will reach warning criteria. That would mean amounts of more than 5 inches. If the snowfall projections remain under that amount closer to the storm, then the watch will be changed to a winter weather advisory, according to the weather service.

Road conditions will be slippery as the snowfall, with potentially hazardous travel conditions during the Tuesday morning and evening commutes, according to the weather service.

Upper Bucks County is included in the watch area. No advisories or watches have been issued for the rest of southeastern Pennsylvania as of late Saturday afternoon.

Substantially higher snowfall totals are possible to our north. In the Lehigh Valley, 4 to 8 inches of snow is expected, according to the weather service. Up to a foot of snow is possible in the Poconos.

Ahead of the possible snow, heavy rain is expected to start across the area by Monday evening. Rain could become heavy at times, according to the weather service.

With warm air over the region ahead of the storm, the main factor in determining how much, if any, snow we will get will be the track of the coastal low. Exactly where it goes will will determine just how far south the cold air will extend, which would be needed for the precipitation to turn to snow, according to the weather service forecast discussion.

Still, the forecast discussion notes that “any snow down to the I-95 corridor looks to be minimal.”

Check back for the latest updates.