This Freezing Winter is One For the Books
In case you haven’t noticed – which is nigh on impossible at this point – it’s cold outside. Really, really cold. The Philadelphia area is currently under a winter storm warning with five to seven inches of snow expected through this evening. The city actually declared a snow emergency state to get cars off the road ahead of plows needed to clear streets for commuters. High winds will accompany freezing temperatures and lots of ice. Power outages are possible. If it seems like this January’s weather is particularly harsh, you aren’t alone or wrong. It’s been 24 years – almost a quarter century – since the temperature dipped below zero in the City of Brotherly Love, but forecasters are predicting it will happen sometime in the next 24 hours.
Freezing cold temperatures in Philly could be the stuff of records.
It’s been nine days since the thermometer showed a reading above freezing, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s quite a streak, but not the longest one in history. According to NBC10, the record is 15 days: “Fifteen days. That happened twice: in 1961 and 1979, Robinson said. The outlook is pretty strong, if we make it past Wednesday afternoon. NBC10 First Alert Weather meteorologists are currently forecasting a high of 31 degrees for Wednesday. Then, it gets even colder than it’s been. And a snow cover expected Thursday should help push the streak to 12 by Sunday. That would be the third-longest ever after those 15-day runs.”
The Streets Department plans to combat the icy roads and sidewalks by laying down salt on primary and secondary roads. Teams will be working around the clock. “We are going to try and treat as many streets as possible with the increased snowfall,” said Steve Lorenz, the chief highway engineer for the city’s Streets Department. “You’re just going to have to bear with us a little bit.”
In the meantime, experts advise homeowners to check the batteries in their thermostats. It’s a simple thing, but it’s the cause of many emergency calls each year to HVAC technicians complaining that the heat won’t work!
