Watch out, watches out for Delco

The temperature was rising as the rain was falling Thursday night, a trend expected to continue into this morning, and the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, N.J., had three watches and a warning out for Delaware County.

A predawn high temperature in the mid-50s is expected.

“In the big picture, we are growing increasingly concerned that there will be significant impacts from a developing storm system that will continue to affect the area through Friday,” the office said.

A strong south wind ahead of the arctic air mass will be first, then a strong northwest wind from the arctic front itself. Gusts of 40, 50 and 60 mph are possible, forecasters said.

Power outages are likely due to downed limbs and power lines. The rain and warmer temperatures will have softened the ground, making trees more susceptible to the winds.

On Thursday, the weather service first issued a flood watch for the county until 7 this morning.

The watch reads in part: “Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. … Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.

Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.”

AccuWeather is forecasting about 1.3 inches of rain for the whole episode before the arctic air mass moves in tonight and the flash freeze occurs.

But that’s not all for Delco:

A wind advisory from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. today for a total of 13 hours.

A coastal flood warning from 10 this morning to 5 this afternoon.

A wind chill advisory will kick in at 6 tonight until 10 a.m. Saturday.

Nearby, in Delaware and southern New Jersey, a coastal flood advisory has been issued.

Looking ahead to this afternoon, the Mount Holly office said this: “The combination of a prolonged period of higher wind gusts with a freshly saturated ground may result in favorable conditions for downed trees/power outages.”

And the wind chill advisory reads, in part: “The cold wind chills could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken. … By Friday evening, this combination of wind and cold will result in wind chills dropping below zero with wind chills as low as 10 below expected overnight Friday night into early Saturday.”

Upper single digit lows are possible by daybreak Saturday.