Snow in forecast as deep freeze maintains grip on Philly area

With the deep freeze maintaining its grip on the Philadelphia region, forecasters are watching a nor'easter that is expected to bring anywhere from 2 inches of snow to the city up to 6 inches at the Shore Wednesday and Thursday.

Subfreezing temperatures will be the norm for entire first week of 2018.

"We're kind of stuck in this cold pattern," National Weather Service meteorologist Sarah Johnson said Monday evening.

The high Tuesday was expected about 23 under . Wednesday should be the warmest day of the week, but still below freezing. On Thursday, the temperature is expected to drop, with a high in the teens by Friday.

A coastal weather system now dumping rain on Florida is expected bring one to two inches of snow to Philadelphia and environs, two to three inches to the New Jersey Pinelands and four to six inches at the Shore. A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for Jersey Shore counties starting Wednesday evening.

Saturday, will likely be the coldest day of the week. With the wind chill factor, it could feel as cold as minus-five to minus-10 degrees from about 5 to 10 a.m., Johnson said, and it will stay cold for the rest of the day. Sunday morning won't be much better.

Johnson said it was unlikely temperatures will climb above freezing until Monday, possibly reaching the mid-30s then.

There have been no weather related deaths reported in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties.

Still, the deep freeze has been blamed for a number of water main breaks around the region and for delaying trains.

The latest included a break overnight at Medford and Minden Streets in Northeast Philadelphia and another on Cooper Landing Road in Cherry Hill and a third in West Conshohocken near Balligomingo Road.

Students at Interboro High School in Prospect Park, Delaware County, got an extra day off on Tuesday because a frozen pipe burst.

And for the second time in a week, the railroad draw bridge between Philadelphia and Pennsauken got stuck in the open position for about four hours, halting service from 30th Street Station to New Jersey on the Atlantic City Rail Line.

SEPTA on Tuesday afternoon said riders should expect delays of up to 30 minutes on its Regional Rail lines due to power problems possibly related to the cold, which makes overhead power lines contract.

The National Weather Service in the meantime issued a rare Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for coastal waters as well as a Gale Watch.

The Heavy Freezing Spray Warning means water fray will accumulate as heavy ice on vessels and that vessels not equipped to handle such freezing should remain in port.