Weather forecasters are predicting a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain Monday evening into Tuesday morning.
Weather forecasters are describing a "roller coaster of temperatures" throughout the next few days, expecting to bring a wintry mix of up to an inch of snow and sleet to the Lehigh Valley.
Weather forecasters are predicting a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain Monday evening into Tuesday morning. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly Sunday afternoon issued a winter weather advisory, starting at 7 p.m. Monday into 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Portions of Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania, and Warren county in New Jersey, are among those that will be affected by the precipitation, the weather service states.
But what is expected could become tricky, says Hackettstown-based WeatherWorks meteorologist Brian Marma.
"It's kind of a little bit of a surprise with temperatures right now," Marma said. "We've been watching this system for the past five to seven days. And obviously it's a little weird coming from the record warmth at Christmas."
A pressure system of colder air is traveling down from Canada and expected to drop temperatures Sunday evening to a low around 36 degrees. Monday is expected to climb back up into the low 40s before dipping back down again to a low between 30 to 32 degrees Monday evening, Marma says.
"It's a pretty big and a pretty quick change," he described.
The National Weather Service and Marma both say snow could begin the wintry mix just before 10 p.m. Monday followed by sleet between 10 p.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Tuesday, as well as freezing rain. Eventually, a changeover of all rain will begin likely by sunrise Tuesday, according to Marma.
The chance of precipitation is 90 percent Monday night into Tuesday with accumulations of sleet, snow and freezing rain totaling up to an inch, weather forecasters across the board are predicting. Marma said some areas with a burst of sleet could see a little more accumulation than others.
"This is a pretty tricky storm and it'll be pretty messy," he said. "We could see a little bit of everything."
The National Weather Service warns motorists slippery road conditions will occur, as well as limited visibility in some areas. Winds coming from the northeast will total 5 to 15-mph with gusts up to 20-mph, according to the weather service.
Marma expects temperatures to then rise back into the mid-40s by Tuesday afternoon. Wednesday's forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high near 51, according to the National Weather Service.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
