A strong nor’easter has been battering the region for hours bringing heavy snow, rain and gusty winds and the winter storm still has plenty of precipitation left to deliver.
"Getting around this morning should not be attempted," said NBC10 First Alert meteorologist Bill Henley.
Heavy snow piled up quickly in many towns across the region with some of the highest accumulations coming in Northern Delaware and South Jersey as of Thursday morning. But that section of the region will soon see mixing and have that mix replaced with heavy rain.
"Temperatures will bump above freezing," Bill said. "Not a huge amount but just enough to add some water to snow and make it heavier to move, making for a messy situation."
For the points to the north and west, however, the snow will be lasting for much longer.
The nor'easter moved in Wednesday night around 9 p.m., bringing snow into Philadelphia, South Jersey and Delaware before spreading to the north and west suburbs.
"There won't be a morning rush," NBC10 First Alert Chief Meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz said as he analyzed new forecasting models from the NBC10 First Alert Weather Center on Tuesday. "The driving conditions will be the worst Thursday morning."
Ahead of the storm more than 800 hundred schools -- including Philadelphia public and Catholic schools -- closed and local municipalities put plans in place to deal with the storm.
Hurricane expects the "worst of the storm" to happen this morning and believes parts of the area, including the Philadelphia-area, could have at least a half a foot of snow on the ground by 6 a.m.
The city's official snow measuring instrument at Philadelphia International Airport only updates every six hours, according to the National Weather Service. The last reading, at 1 a.m. on Thursday, was only just over an inch, but officials expect that number to actually be much higher.
Hurricane predicted that some parts of the area would have "6 by 6" -- meaning 6 inches of snow would be on the ground by 6 a.m. on Thursday. That prediction came true for several areas and was even surpassed in some.
"We're still going to see the bulk of the snow at the beginning of the storm," Hurricane said.
By early Thursday morning, roads were snow covered leading to speed restrictions on area bridges, hundreds of canceled or delayed flights at Philadelphia International Airport and SEPTA delays and detours. Speeds were also restricted on area highways and bridges.
During the afternoon, there will be breaks between the rainfall and snowfall in Philadelphia while light snow will continue north and west.
WATCHING THE CHANGEOVER
The nor’easter has a lot of moisture associated with it and is already bringing in strong winds and heavy snow as well as heavy rain along the coast.
How much of one type of precipitation will fall in each area, however, will vary depending on where you're located, the storm's track and air temperature.
That changeover, Hurricane says, is the "key" to figuring out what issues each neighborhood will have to contend with during the storm.
"There are some places where most of the day is going to be rain and their issue is going to be heavy rain and potential flooding," he said. "It all depends on that changeover."
The temperature will play an important role in determining the snow-fate of much of the area. The mercury remained below freezing overnight and is expected to rise into the upper 30s throughout the storm. The faster -- or slower -- that happens will determine whether some areas get more or less snow. But, with the latter may come other issues like flooding.
The storm's potential prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Winter Storm Warning for most of the region -- with the exception of extreme South Jersey -- which will last through 1 a.m. on Friday.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter declared a state of emergency in Philadelphia that went into effect Wednesday night. He also canceled Thursday and Friday trash collection and said the city plans to collect trash as regular Monday despite the President's Day holiday.
Over in New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie also declared a state of emergency, closing all state offices on Thursday for non-essential employees.
3 DIFFERENT STORMS IN ONE
The northern and western suburbs adjacent to Philadelphia, like Montgomery, Chester, Bucks and Mercer Counties, are in the bull's-eye for the most heavy snow. Based on the latest data, those areas could see as much as 14 inches in snow accumulations by the end of the storm.
Parts of the Lehigh Valley -- including Allentown, Pa. -- and the Poconos could also see the higher snowfall totals.
Hurricane says these areas are expected to see the least amount of changeover from snow to sleet, which will account for higher snowfall amounts.
In Philadelphia, South Jersey and northern Delaware, at least 8 inches of snow is expected to pile up before the precipitation changes over to sleet and later rain during the day. But if the temperature doesn't warm up fast enough, more snow will fall for longer and drive up the totals, according to Hurricane.
The further south and east you go, the less snow will accumulate. However, it will be replaced with heavy rain. The Inland and coastal Jersey Shore and southern Delaware are only expected to get between 2 and 4 inches of snow before the rain takes over. Flooding may be the bigger concern in these areas.
Areas to the south and east, including Philadelphia and parts of South Jersey and Delaware, will also see a lull in the storm around 4 p.m. on Thursday. However, our meteorologists say that won't mean the storm will be over. Another period of snow should hit around 8 p.m. Thursday before wrapping up around 1 a.m. on Friday.
Here's a general breakdown of how the precipitation should fall across the region:
Check back often to NBC10.com’s Severe Weather Central for the latest information.
Photo Credit: Getty Images