Winter weather outlook: What to know to plan and be prepared

This year's winter weather outlook for Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic states is up in the air according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) seasonal forecast. There's uncertainty whether we'll see below, average, or above average precipitation, which includes snow.

To be prepared for whatever the weather brings, the Office of Emergency Management's infrastructure planning staff works with departments and external partners to ensure the City is ready to respond.

To help you be ready for the season, we've highlighted steps you can take at home to be aware and prepared.

Forecast

To check the forecast for Philadelphia, simply visit the National Weather Service Mount Holly's webpage or their social media pages.

If you'd like to take a deeper dive if snow is predicted, look at NOAA's National Weather Service Probabilistic Winter Storm Severity Index product that enhances awareness of storms by visually representing the likelihood of potential impacts due to expected winter hazards over a seven-day period.

This is complemented by an existing operational version of the Winter Storm Severity Index, based on the official National Weather Service forecast of the most likely conditions over the next three days.

Health

Hypothermia and frostbite are risks when spending time outside in the cold. Know the signs and treat them quickly when you spot them.

Signs of frostbite include numbness, white or grayish-yellow skin, or skin that feels unusually firm. Hypothermia symptoms include shivering, slurred speech, confusion, and exhaustion.

If you notice any of these signs, seek warmth immediately.

Here's what you can do:

• Seek medical attention as soon as possible.
• Go to a warm room or shelter.
• Change out of wet clothing and into dry layers as soon as possible to avoid heat loss.
• Wrap up in warm layers of blankets or clothing.
• If you can, sip on warm fluids to stabilize your body temperature.
• If experiencing frostbite, place affected areas in warm-to-touch water. Never place body parts in extremely hot water or in front of a heat source as this can further harm people with frostbite.

Code Blue

The Office of Homeless Services declares a Code Blue when the National Weather Service forecasts precipitation and a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or when the wind chill is forecasted to reach 20 degrees or below.

A Code Blue activation alerts shelter providers, increases the number of shelter beds, and puts the City's 24/7 Homeless Street Outreach Team on high alert, operating more urgently to encourage people living on the street in freezing temperatures to let them take them to an intake center or shelter.

To get help for someone who is sleeping outdoors in the cold, anyone may call the Homeless Outreach Hotline at 215-232-1984 to bring them to an intake center where staff will find and assign them to a shelter based on their needs.

If someone is not able to call, they may visit a City intake center, where staff will help locate a shelter best suited for them.

When a Code Blue declaration has lasted at least three nights in a row, OHS will elevate it to an Enhanced Code Blue.

During an Enhanced Code Blue, OHS, the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and City and provider partners open several warming centers at Philadelphia Parks and Recreation centers, Philadelphia Free Library locations and other sites throughout Philadelphia. OEM also publishes to the City's website, an interactive warming center map, with at least one site located in each Councilmanic district.

Additionally, OHS, the Department of Behavioral and Health and DisAbility Services (DBHIDS), the Department of Public Health, Office of Public Safety, Philadelphia Fire Department, Philadelphia Police Department, and other City partners deploy extra outreach teams to engage with people they see living or sleeping outdoors. They may offer rides to a warming center or intake center where OHS and/or DBHIDS staff can help with shelter placement or other services like substance use disorder treatment or Stranded Traveler Assistance.

OHS alerts the public to all Code Blue declarations by activating a sitewide alert on the City of Philadelphia website and publishing to its Instagram and X social media accounts.

Snow Emergency

If there is an impactful snowfall, the City's managing director can declare a snow emergency. A snow emergency is different from a state of emergency, which is declared by the mayor. During a snow emergency, vehicles parked on snow emergencyroutes must be moved, or they will be ticketed and towed. Parking is restricted on snow emergency routes so that snow plows can move through and clear roads. To find out if your car was towed, call 215-686-SNOW. This line is only active during a snow emergency.

There are 110 miles of snow emergency routes in the city. In order to provide effective service during winter storms, streets are divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary route systems.

The primary route system encompasses 665 miles, including the 110 miles of Snow Emergency Routes. The secondary route system includes another 700 miles of streets (both systems exclude the roadway maintained by the Parks and Recreation). The balance of City streets falls into the tertiary street system, covering approximately 1,125 miles of streets, 25 miles of which are private streets.

During a snow emergency, trash pickup could be cancelled. There may also be power outages and suspensions of public transit services . Check SEPTA for service detours and cancellations.

If there are city or state vehicles out brining, salting, or plowing, stay at least six car lengths behind the vehicle for your safety and the safety of operators.

When there is any type of severe weather, check real-time road conditions on PennDOT's interactive map or on X.

Home Fire Safety

Home heating is the second-leading cause of fires, and winter is when most household fires occur. Fifty percent of carbon monoxide incidents reported to local fire departments occur between November and February, peaking in December.

Take these precautions to help prevent emergencies and ensure your home remains a warm and safe living environment:

• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet from heat sources, including fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators, portable heaters, or candles.
• Install 10-year lithium-ion battery-powered smoke alarms and test them weekly.
• Install certified carbon monoxide alarms and test those weekly, as well.
• Clean dust and dryer lint from your home to reduce risk.
• Always plug space heaters directly into an outlet, and make sure the cord isn't damaged or frayed.
• Maintain heating equipment and chimneys by having them cleaned and inspected each year by a professional.

The Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD) recommends having one smoke alarm on each floor of your home, including the basement. They should be 10-year smoke alarms, with sealed lithium-ion batteries. If you don't have smoke alarms, you can request them for free through 311 or buy them at most hardware stores.

OEM wants you to be prepared for emergencies and know what to do if you need to evacuate or shelter-in-place by making a Family Emergency Plan.

Protecting your Property

If freezing temperatures are forecast, the Philadelphia Water Department recommends these steps to take around your property to help protect your pipes from becoming damaged:

• Let your faucet run at a trickle overnight during extremely cold weather.
• Keep the area around your water meter above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Check your water faucets for water flow and pressure before you sleep and again when you wake up. The first sign of freezing is reduced water flow from a faucet.

Read All About Frozen Pipes from the Philadelphia Water Department.

Water Main Breaks

Extreme cold can cause pipes and the ground to expand and contract, and very cold river water can also make water mains more brittle. In part, those factors can help to explain why more than half of Philadelphia's water main breaks occur during the coldest months in a typical year.

Last winter, water department crews responded to hundreds of water main breaks.

If you believe you have no water because of a water main break, call 215-685-6300 and select the emergency option. Water Department emergency crews will investigate the report.

Power Outages

Snow, ice, and high wind gusts can contribute to power outages.

Philadelphia's power utility company PECO has ways to help before, during, and after a storm, including, preventing outages, storm readiness, storm restoration process, reporting outages online, and tracking current outages. Click on the "Outages" drop down menu on their homepage. PECO's free mobile app also allows you to easily report outages and stay up to date on the restoration status.

If a tree falls during a storm and poses an immediate safety threat, call 911. Otherwise, call the city's non-emergency number 311. A crew of arborists from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation is on-call to respond to tree emergencies. In the event that a tree has fallen on electrical wires, please call PECO's emergency line: 1-800-841-4141.

Home Heating Assistance

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is now open for the 2025-2026 season. This program provides heating assistance and crisis grants to help eligible households stay safe and warm throughout the winter. You can apply at https://www.compass.state.pa.us or by phone at 1-866-550-4355. The program is open through April 10, 2026.

Stay Connected

If hazardous winter weather is predicted, the Office of Emergency Management may hold a severe weather coordination call with partners to discuss the forecast and its impact on the city.

Our office will send weather alerts, like snowstorms, snow emergencies, snow squall warnings, or extreme cold weather, directly to your phone or email through OEM's public notification system, ReadyPhiladelphia.

ReadyPhiladelphia is now available to residents and businesses in 11 different languages, including American Sign Language (ASL). Customize your alerts by visiting our ReadyPhiladelphia webpage. You can also use the quick enroll feature for free texts by sending READYPHILA to 888777.