Bouncing Around

Today's high temperature of 63 degrees in Philadelphia is the first foray into the 60's in a week, coming seven days after a 69 degree burst in Philadelphia and just days after picking up 6" of snow.  Nothing like the wild ride of late winter -- going from record warmth to snow to severe weather all in a week's time.    With another 60 degree day looming on Monday to close out meteorological winter, it looks likely that we'll have one month of above average temperatures (February) for this winter but that we'll end up below average overall for December-February.

Today's squall line brought some damage but the worst impact came on the heels of today's squall -- winds gusting to 66 mph in Lewes, DE and 63 mph in Philadelphia -- enough to cause damage in a number of locations around the region, including in Atlantic City where some damage occurred to billboards near the Boardwalk.   In the wake of the squall, temperatures dropped 15 degrees between 3 and 5 PM in Philadelphia (from 58 to 43).  In Pottstown, the drop was 16 degrees between 3 and 5 PM (57 to 41).

By the way, no record highs today in the region -- Philadelphia's record high is 79 degrees from 1930.

'Tis The Season For Potholes

From WHYY's Newsworks.org, a look at potholes starting to develop last week in the region.  With the temperature roller coaster in process this week in Philadelphia, combined with a warming trend overall, potholes will explode in magnitude a la the stink bug...something else that won't be too far away (just not this week, thankfully).

Potholes are formed by moisture seeping into pavement or concrete and buckling due to the natural expansion and contraction process of these surfaces as temperatures climb during the day and fall at night.   You can check out the Minnesota DOT for more information on potholes in general since that part of the world deals with them in greater frequency than we do around here. Due to the colder temperatures around here, combined with snowfall during January, and the stage is set for a Minnesota-like onslaught of potholes over the coming days as frost and moisture escape from thawing roads, a surface that is not very forgiving to expansion and contraction processes and resulting in a bumpy ride for many around the city and in the suburbs.

The Streets Department in the city has information on potholes and a "hotline" to call.  Of course, it might be better to just call your local government official...or perhaps just clench your teeth, swerve, or dart around those potholes while you await the city to do their part.   You can also report potholes on Philly.com and through a litany of other media websites (just search "Pothole Philadelphia" on Google and report away).