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Be careful hitting the road this morning. While the snow is gone, a mixture of overnight refreezing and rain could lead to slippery conditions.
A Freezing Rain Advisory is in effect for areas north and west of Philadelphia from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. today as it's possible a line of rain arrives before temps push above freezing.
Before the rain even arrives, wet surfaces and melted snow refroze overnight, leading to icy conditions in some areas.
Freezing rain will then move into parts of the Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania suburbs around 9 a.m. That’s when the roads will be at their slickest due to the precipitation and icy spots, with temperatures only in the low 30s.
The rain will move into Philly around 10 a.m. and become heaviest around noon as it moves from the north and west. The system will then clear completely around 2 p.m. and temperatures should push into the mid- to upper-40s.
NBC10 First Alert Weather meteorologist Bill Henley said it looks like temps in most areas should be above freezing when the rain moves in.
The big warm-up and melt off began on Wednesday, creating a relief to many but also some problems as well. Investigators say the weight of melting snow caused a carport to collapse in Hatboro, Pa., injuring an elderly man. The heavy snow also led to the roofs of three homes in Lehigh County crashing down. Fortunately no one was hurt during the incidents in the Lehigh Valley.
With the combination of rain and icy patches melted by the warm-up, some residents are worried about flooding on Wednesday.
“It’s very dangerous,” said Taneka Dingle of Jenkintown. “We worry about water coming into the house.”
Thursday will be a mild day with a high of 48 degrees. Friday will be the warmest day of the week with highs near 60. With that warmth comes more rain however as well as a chance of thunderstorms.
Things will dry out during the weekend with a mild Saturday with highs in the upper 50s and a cooler Sunday with highs in the mid-40s.
Temperatures will then drop again on Monday when a cold blast moves in.
Stay with NBC10.com for the latest updates on the severe weather.
A man was shot in the face after answering a late-night knock at the door, according to police.
Police were called to the unit block of Foster Street in Sharon Hill, Pa. around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Sharon Hill Police Chief Bob Tinsley said the 39-year-old man was visiting his sister’s house when a group of people came to the door.
“There was a knock at the door… the victim in this case answered the door,” said Tinsley. “He had some kind of verbal confrontation with another individual. From what we are understanding the confrontation may have gotten a little argumentative and shortly after that the victim was shot by the suspect.”
The victim was conscious when police arrived a short time later. He was rushed to the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania where he underwent surgery Wednesday morning for what police call a non-life-threatening injury.
Police said five to six people were in the home at the time -- one in the room where the shooting happened.
Tinsley said police were working under the assumption that the victim knew his attacker.
Police said they were looking for three people of interest in the case.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sharon Hill Police.
One of the most frustrating parts about potholes is that they're so hard to report.
If it's on a state road you call one agency, if it's on a county road, you have to call another.
The Blue Route, Route 322, City Line Avenue and Ridge Avenue are just some of the area roadways where potholes are causing problems this winter.
Road officials fell the pain too.
"They're all over," said PennDOT maintenance director Nick Martino. "It's like an epidemic, all of a sudden it happened.
Officials are making it easier to report potholes you see in South Jersey. In Camden County you can report a pothole online or by calling 856-566-2980.
County crews will be out Wednesday morning patching holes in the road.
In Philadelphia you can report a pothole through the Streets Department's website.
A tractor trailer got into a slippery situation in Center City Philadelphia on Wednesday morning.
The CVS/pharmacy rig got stuck on a large snow mound on South 11th Street near Market Street, leaving the large trailer leaning perilously to one side around 8 a.m. on Wednesday.
Photos of the mishap posted to social networks show the truck stuck in the middle of the street, preventing traffic from getting by.
The truck appears to have been making a delivery to the CVS store up the block and lodged itself when trying to back down Ludlow Street.
Philadelphia Police were on scene to investigate the incident.
The truck was moved out around 9 a.m. and the street reopened.
Photo Credits: Cheryl D. Jones
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Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.
Were you startled by a loud boom and a bright flash this morning?
You aren’t alone -- the loud booms shook people and left them asking what happened.
We asked the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team to explain the phenomenon.
Loud thunder claps shook buildings, including our own NBC10 studio in Bala Cynwyd, around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday. From Delaware to Chester County to South Jersey people reported feeling buildings rattle and seeing bright flashes in the sky.
So many people locally tweeting about thunder, I'm starting to think that when the building shook a few minutes ago, it wasn't a truck.
— Rachel (@raewing) Feb. 19, 2014
The NBC10 weather team says the loud boom was caused by lightning that amplified thanks to the cold air. Since the air is colder this time of year it has a higher density than air we have during thunderstorms that we get in spring and summer.
NBC10 First Alert Weather meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz said that numerous lightning strikes caused the loud bangs that felt almost like earthquakes.
Hurricane says that it's unlikely the rattling was anything more than lightning and the U.S. Geological Survey didn't report any earthquakes anywhere on the East Coast.
"Sound is affected by the density of the air," said Hurricane.
"The National Weather Service believes density is the main factor."
NBC10 First Alert Weather meteorologist Bill Henley said that the lack of leaves and foliage also causes sound to travel more clearly. It's the same reason why you are more likely to hear a far off train in winter rather than summer.
The fact that lightning bolts can be dozens of miles long also could have led to rolling thunder heard around the region.
The loud boom felt in Bala Cynwyd could also be felt in Roxborough, Northeast Philadelphia and the Main Line. Other loud booms were also felt in Bucks, Chester, Mercer, Montgomery and Camden Counties. There were also reports of rumbling thunder and lightning as far south as Newark, Del.
The weather team said the string of lightning strikes lasted less than 20 minutes but the damage was done.
The storm broke windows, knocked down power lines and turned the lights out on hundreds of homes and businesses in Philadelphia's Roxborough neighborhood.
Sharon DiFranco McMurray felt the boom and saw the lightning along Roxborough Avenue.
"Felt like a military jet flying overhead & then a loud Boom! The lightning lit up my house. Very scary and the thunder lasted 30 seconds."
The storm began to move out of the area by mid-afternoon.
Boom! A loud rumble barreled across the Philadelphia region this morning.
Tweets with the word "shook" skyrocketed moments after a loud thunder clap was heard about 10:20 a.m. Was it an earthquake? No, the loud boom heard was thunder.
NBC10 chief meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz says it was caused by lightning that amplified due to the cold air.
Rain moved into the area at the end of the morning commute. The thunderstorm is passing by the area and should be gone by 1 p.m. It made itself known knocking out power in parts of Delaware County and Roxborough.
West Street near the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan was shut down Wednesday because of falling ice from the rebuilt skyscraper, authorities said.
The six-lane thoroughfare was closed for about 2 miles southbound from Canal Street to the Battery Park underpass, and about a mile northbound from Battery Park to Murray Street.
The Battery Park underpass was also closed.
City officials warned of major traffic delays throughout lower Manhattan.
Streets around the trade center have been closed a number of other times this winter for the same problem.
Some architects say newer, energy-efficient high-rises may actually be contributing to ice buildup.
"They keep more heat inside, which means the outside is getting colder and that allows more snow and ice to form," said engineer Roman Stangl, founder of the consulting firm Northern Microclimate in Cambridge, Ontario.
Anthony Hayes, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which owns the trade center site, said crews have been removing the accumulation of ice that formed on the 1 World Trade Center and on an external construction hoist that stretches from the ground to the 90th floor.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners is set to meet this afternoon.
It's unclear if the recent Bridgegate scandal where members of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's inner circle allegedly called for the closure of lanes of the George Washington Bridge will be discussed at the monthly meeting.
Fire and emergency crews from New Jersey and Philadelphia are on the scene of a fire that moved through the PSE&G station in Burlington City.
The vacant station, an electrical plant that was once used to generate gas and distillate oil, is located at 901 West Broad Street, right along the river.
A witness says he was on his way to the bank with his mom when he saw smoke barreling out of the building.
"I told my mom, you have two choices -- go to the bank or follow this fire," said James Crean.
Crean says that there are multiple fire engines on the scene and the Philadelphia Fire Department confirmed dispatched one of their fire boats to assist in putting out the blaze.
The fire started around 2:30 p.m. and was out less than an hour later, according to PSE&G respresentative Melissa Ficuciello.
No one was injured in the blaze.
SkyForce10 is on its way to the scene. We'll keep you updated with details as they come in.
Some avid runners who are unhappy with the results of the lottery for the 40,000 slots in this year's Blue Cross Broad Street Run, have decided to take matters into their own hands.
Shortly after the lottery closed on Saturday, Feb. 15 (after a three-day extension to the original entry deadline due to bad weather) numerous ads from people seeking to purchase, trade, or sell slots in the race began surfacing on the classifieds website, Craigslist.
The stories behind the ad posts vary. The lottery apparently spoiled plans for people who wanted to do joint runs. They posted to the site seeking a bib sale or transfer for a sibling, spouse or running partner that did not earn a slot through the race lottery. There's also the tale of the hopeful first-time runner, and an odd request for a bib swap with a "sexy single lady."
While registration for the run costs a mere $43, one runner, perhaps seeking to capitalize on the misfortune of rejected runners, posted an ad asking for a whole lot more. The lucky lottery winner listed a bib for sale with a $9,999 price tag.
Kristen Abel, 27, said both she and her father were disappointed to learn that they hadn't been selected in this year's lottery. Abel ran the race with her father last year and was looking forward to doing the same again this year. Now the pair are hoping for someone to drop out of the race and offer up a slot for transfer.
"I was really upset because I was really looking forward to running. My dad and I both signed up but neither of us was selected," she said. "So right now we’re just going through the transfer program and hoping for a slot to open up."
Runners have been grumbling about the lottery process since it was implemented in 2013. Race organizers say the shift to a lottery system was necessary because the first-come, first-served entry system from prior years discriminated against those who could not access computers when registration opened.
The Broad Street Run, which has taken place on the first weekend in May for the last 34 years, is the largest 10-Mile race in the country. The race has become so popular that, in 2012, all of the race entry slots were filled within five hours of the registration opening.
Race organizers maintain that the electronic lottery drawing is random and each registrant has an equal chance of being selected, whether runners register as individuals or groups, on the first or the last day of registration.
Lottery winners who cannot participate in the race for one reason or another are allowed to transfer their bib to another runner or defer their entry to another year, but they must do so through an official transfer with the race organizers.
The sale of bib numbers through unofficial exchanges -- like the ones being sought in some of the Craigslist ads -- are prohibited. A statement posted on BroadStreetRun.com explained the reasoning behind the prohibited bib exchanges:
“There are serious risks if we do not know the identity of every runner in the race. We must be able to track each and every person on the course in the event of a medical emergency. Our awards are based on those who registered for the race. We have had many problems over the years due to runners wearing another person’s bib. As with all events, we calculate a certain percentage of no-shows into our overall projections of the number of runners that are accepted. If our calculations are incorrect, it could mean not enough shirts, water on the course or food for our finishers."
Race organizers say that anyone who is caught participating in an illegal transfer of a race bib will be banned from future races.
There are a couple of legal options left for people looking to earn a slot in the race.
The official Broad Street Run transfer program allows buyers and sellers to post requests for bib exchanges through bulletin boards on the race website.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 288 runners had posted to the buyers bulletin board, seeking race registrations. The bulletin board designated for those offering to sell registrations has instead also been inundated with requests from buyers.
Runners can still register to run in support of one of four charities: the American Cancer Society, Students Run Philly Style, Back on My Feet or the Fairmount Park Conservancy. Charity runners are required to commit to a $500 fundraising goal for the charity of choice.
Joe Dougherty, 34, posted an ad on Craigslist seeking a slot in the race. Dougherty was not selected in the lottery, but his wife was. He has since signed up as a charity runner for Back on My Feet, an option he says he is grateful to have.
"I found out that the organization called Back on My Feet had an open slot and I took it. I have to raise $500 before the day of the race or they'll charge my credit card for whatever I don't raise, but I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to raise the funds. I'm glad there is another option for me to be able to participate in the race," he said.
Veterans -- runners who have participated in the race for 10 years or more -- who were not selected in the lottery can also gain guaranteed entry to the race by submitting a request to bsrveterans@aol.com by March 1.
Walking and parking around Philadelphia these days can be a huge hassle. Mounds of snow, several feet high in some places, bump up against curbs, at bus stops and street corners across the city.
The piled snow forces pedestrians to turn into urban mountain climbers and requires expert driving precision, which proves too difficult for those in compact cars and even tractor trailers. And it could be days before Mother Nature warms up enough to melt that much snow.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Several cold weather cities use melting machines to rid the streets of large amounts of snow in quick order.
SNOW “HOT TUBS”
"It’s very beneficial for us. It brings the city back to some sort of normalcy," says Keith Mellis, spokesperson for the Department of Sanitation for the City of New York (DSNY).
New York’s Strongest, as the 6,000 person force likes to be called, deploys 36 snow melting machines across the city’s five boroughs when major storms drop large amounts of snow and cold temperatures prevent quick melting.
"We make a decision to do what we call a hauling and piling operation. Where we plow the snow and then haul it to designated locations," he said.
Once at a melting machine, nicknamed by DSNY staff as "hot tubs," front-end loaders dump the snow into an opening at the top. The snow is then heated to a temperature around 38 degrees and liquified. The water is then emptied into sewers approved by the Department of Environmental Protection to handle the extra water.
"It has a filtration system built in to it as well and what that does is filters out any debris before it drains into the approved sewers," Mellis said. "Each machine [melts] about 60 tons an hour and it’ll operate for 24 hours."
Mellis says the melters aren’t used for every storm or even every year. Last week’s nor’easter that dumped nearly a foot of snow on much of the Northeast, was the first time this year that New York deployed their melting machine. He says the machines were used several times in 2010, which was a heavy snow year, but their operation is always included in the department’s snow removal budget.
"We get praise from the community," Mellis said. "With parking it’s so beneficial…Once we get the curbs cleaned up we avoid people having to park on snow ridges and such."
All that melting does cost money though.
Snow Dragon Snowmelters, which didn't make New York's machines, but has sold snow melters to the municipalities of Newtown, Mass., Woodbridge, N.J. and Minneapolis, Minn., says its most popular model retails for $226,000.
The diesel-powered SND900 can melt 30 tons of snow over the course of a day -- burning through 60 gallons of fuel an hour.
At $4 a gallon, that adds up to $240 an hour to operate. But company representative Jennifer Binney says costs are saved by not having to haul large amounts of snow across a city.
"This type of equipment is also great for cities to help control their snow removal budgets by helping to not have their budgets fluctuate too much," she said. For instance if they have a record year, without snow melting they are in the situation where they have to haul and many times have problems where to put all the snow."
MELTING CLOSER TO HOME
Melting machines are also used in our own backyard.
Every winter, Philadelphia International Airport rents a handful of machines from a supplier in New York. Victoria Lupica, the airport’s spokeswoman, says the machines have been put into operation 10 times this winter.
"We use them as needed to melt accumulated snow from the terminal aprons as opposed to loading, hauling and dumping it elsewhere on the airport," Lupica said. "They are the size of a tractor trailer and are towed to the work areas. The ones we use melt about 250 tons of snow per hour each."
So what about Philly?
Mark McDonald, Mayor Michael Nutter’s spokesman, said the Streets Department tried out the machines several years ago, but found them to be inefficient.
"The Department, which does not own any of this machinery, experimented with them some time ago and found that they are less efficient than loading snow into trucks and carting it away," he said. "They would also be a significant capital expense and it’s expensive to operate."
McDonald said the Streets Department has been removing snow from some parts of the city, but has been focusing its efforts on filling potholes.
When asked what the city does with the snow that is removed from streets, a Streets Department spokeswoman said in a statement that it is stored in an undisclosed location.
"We do not want the location made public because we do not want private contractors hauling snow to the site from private properties," officials said.
Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.
Police say at least two cars caught fire inside the parking garage of a Bucks County hospital.
The burning cars were found in the parking garage at St. Mary’s Hospital in Langhorne. Fire crews were able to bring the flames under control.
Officials are investigating the cause of the fire. No one was injured during the incident.
Stay with NBC10.com for more details on this developing story.
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