Central Pennsylvania Braces for Stormy Weather

Central Pennsylvania is in for a wild weather ride. A big storm is coming, bringing lots of rain and very strong winds. The National Weather Service has warned everyone to be ready for high winds. First, rain will start falling tonight and will keep going all night. Most places will get about half an inch to an inch of rain. But in the east-central mountains, it could be more, maybe 1. 5 to 2. 5 inches. This could cause some flooding, especially in Sullivan County, where melting snow will add to the water. Between 1 and 8 a. m. Friday, a narrow band of heavy rain and possible thunderstorms will move through the area. After that, things will get windy. The strongest winds are expected between 1 and 7 p. m. Friday, with gusts of 40 to 50 mph in central Pennsylvania and up to 60 mph in the Laurel Highlands and south central Alleghenies.As the day goes on, colder air will move in, turning the rain into snow showers. This will happen mostly in the western mountains and areas where lake effect snow is common. By Saturday morning, these places could have 1 to 3 inches of snow. Blowing and drifting snow might make driving difficult in the northwestern mountains. The weekend will start off nice on Saturday, but another cold front will bring arctic air, gusty winds, and more lake effect snow on Sunday and Sunday night. Looking ahead, next week will be warmer than usual for late December. But there might be mixed precipitation events early Tuesday and on Christmas Day. The timing of these events will decide if they cause any winter weather problems.