Heavy snow is falling over portions of southeastern Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, with projected snow totals continuing to increase as a coastal storm impacts the region.
Late Monday evening, the National Weather Service upgraded Berks, Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties to a winter storm warning as a shifting storm track indicated the area would get more snow than initially expected.
Early Tuesday morning, the projected totals increased again. Snow accumulations of 5 to 9 inches are now expected in Berks and upper Bucks counties, while 4 to 8 inches are possible in Chester, Montgomery and lower Bucks counties, according to the weather service.
The heaviest snow is expected Tuesday morning, with snowfall rates of up to an inch per hour possible. This will create hazardous conditions and make travel very difficult, according to the weather service.
The winter storm warning remains in effect until 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Delaware County and Philadelphia, where 2 to 5 inches of snow are now expected, are under a winter weather advisory.
The change in the forecast is the result of a slight shift south in the storm’s track and an increase in the amount of cold air that will work its way into the storm. This allowed an earlier changeover from rain to snow, according to the weather service forecast discussion.
In its forecast discussion Tuesday morning, the weather service noted that the early spotter reports indicated that forecasters had overestimated the amount of dry air involved with the storm, and accumulations were exceeding expectations. This prompted the weather service to further increase the snowfall projections.
The storm could also bring wind gusts as high as 40 mph, according to the weather service.
To the north, the worst of the storm is once again expected to hit the Lehigh Valley and Poconos, where up to a foot of snow is now expected, with locally higher amounts possible.
This story will be updated.
