Delaware
Will Delaware see another mild winter? See the AccuWeather forecast for 2024-2025
Raw video: Motorists on Route 13 as snowstorm begins
Cars drive on Route 13 near New Castle during the early parts of a winter storm that’s expected to drop 3 to 6 inches of snow in upstate Delaware today. 1/19/24
AccuWeather released its winter forecast for 2024-25, and its looking like another mild season for Delaware.
The meteorology company is predicting the winter to be bookended by unsettled weather, but the heart of winter could remain mild.
Last winter was the warmest on record, and this one will be similar.
“It may not be a harsh winter for us for the most part, we’re still watching the end game,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
How cold will it be this winter in Delaware?
Pastelok said much of the season could see above average temperatures. While the season may not be as mild as last winter, cold temperatures could struggle to take hold on a consistent basis and will be outdone by milder temperatures.
Colder temperatures are more likely in December and unsettled weather could take place in February, Pastelok said, but there is uncertainty on the timing of that pattern coming in late winter or early spring.
He said warm water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico will not allow cold air to truly take hold for longer periods of time.
“You can look at sea surface temperature anomalies in the Atlantic and the Gulf,” he said. “If they’re running above normal, it gets really hard to get a lot of cold presses.”
Will it snow, and how much?
AccuWeather thinks it will snow in Philadelphia, but it will be below the seasonal average. They are predicting 15-20 inches overall in the city.
Pasterlok said the snowfall amounts in Delaware could be in the low-to-middle teens, with lower amounts along the coast.
Last year, Philly saw 11.2 inches of snow, which is nearly a foot below average. The best chances for snow are in February. Unsettled, potentially colder weather could bring some more flakes than usual to Pennsylvania in December, but they cold struggle to reach Delaware.
Nor’easters, coastal storms producing wintry weather, could be few and far-between this winter. Delaware could find itself on the warm side of most winter storms.
“A lot of our storms are going to be cutting up through the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, and that leaves us on the warm side of things,” Pasterlok said.
Being on the warm end of these storms could result in some ice in the Philadelphia metro.