After an icy Thursday morning in Philly, expect a weekend sequel and maybe major snow next week

In what is likely to be the most active run of February wintry weather in the Philly region in four years, a mix of light snow, sleet, and freezing rain has made the Thursday morning rush an adventure in some parts of the region.

And forecasters said this would be the start of a quite-active period that would feature a messy, icy encore on the weekend, and a storm that could snow on Super Bowl parade planning. In fact, the storm traffic might be moving more briskly than the ground traffic around here Thursday morning.

Hours before any flakes or ice had fallen, schools in the region preemptively made late-opening and virtual-instruction announcements Wednesday.

Some paltry snow and sleet accumulations were reported across the region, generally less than a half inch, but that was topped by a dangerous veneer of freezing rain. Ice accumulations of 0.1 to 0.15 inches were general throughout the region, said Alex Staarmann, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly.

At Northeast Philadelphia Airport, 0.24 inches was measured by the automated observing system, although that “seemed a little high compared with the surrounding reports,” Staarmann said.

At mid-morning, 115 flights in and out of Philadelphia International Airport — where the official freezing-rain total was 0.17 inches — had been canceled, and more than 40 others delayed, according to FlightAware.

The disruptions in the Philly region Thursday have a lot to do with when, rather than what.

The precipitation got under way before dawn and temperatures were near or below freezing through the peak morning commuting hours. They were expected to rise past 40 degrees later in the day.

No.

Another round of snow, sleet, and freezing rain is forecast for late Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, with outcomes similar to Thursday morning’s. However, precipitation again will become liquid rain, and it should be over by daybreak Sunday.

The atmosphere will be catching its breath the rest of the day, with plenty of sun, highs in the low to mid-40s, and no chance of precipitation through Sunday night.

Granted, fan behavior is considerably more unpredictable.

Maybe.

Significant snow, perhaps several inches, is possible next week in Philly, forecasters say, but it’s likely to be a few days before the timing is settled.

The snow may come in two pieces, said Dave Dombek, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., with a prequel Monday night and a main event Tuesday into Wednesday. The National Weather Service was seeing a 70% likelihood of snow Tuesday and Wednesday, an unusually high probability so far in advance of a storm.

Dombek said the storm is likely to take a more southerly track than the ones this week and have more cold air to mine than its predecessors.

And this won’t be the last in the sequence, as systems keep moving across the country west to east.

“There could be yet another one the following week,” he said.

“It’s an active pattern. I don’t see any major letup to it.”

The Climate Prediction Center’s extended outlook through Feb. 15 sees the chances favoring above-normal precipitation and below-normal temperatures in the region.

This month is likely to end up being quite a contrast to the last three Februaries in Philadelphia. On a total of only nine days during those months did temperatures fail to reach 40. The snowfall total was 3.6 inches.

Incidentally, winter weather could affect Super Bowl parade planning no matter who wins: Snow is also in the forecast for Kansas City next week.