The weather, currently.

The weather forecast for Wednesday in the City of Philadelphia is for mostly sunny skies and mild temperatures. This will likely be the best weather day of the week. Temperatures start off in the upper 30s around sunrise and will reach the mid 50s during the afternoon. These are normal temperatures for this time of year. Winds will be light and variable. There will be lots of sunshine throughout the day. Overall, an excellent day for outdoor activities.

More about that sunshine. Although the Spring Equinox was just last week, we are already up to 12 hours and 30 minutes of sunshine (it was right at 12 hours at the beginning of last week). This is the time of year when we gain the most sunshine each day. The rate of increase will slow down as we get closer to the Summer Equinox in June.

— Gary Szatkowski

What you need to know, currently.

California has had a brutally wet winter, as the AP put it, “Californians are tired”.

Less than a week after tornadoes devastated parts of the state, heavy rain and snow will continue into Tuesday, as the latest Pacific storm moves inland early Tuesday and sticks around through Wednesday. The northern coastal ranges and the Sierra Nevada are expected to see the most snow, with up to three feet predicted.

Temperatures will remain well below average, with the highs ranging from the 50s to 70s in Southern California. This weather system is also bringing strong, gusty winds of up to 45 miles per hour in Northern California.

Northeast California, the Greater Lake Tahoe Area, and Mono County are all under a winter storm warming, according to the National Weather Service.

“Avoid travel if possible,” the Weather Service in Sacramento warned on Tuesday morning.

Last week, a bomb cyclone made landfall in the San Francisco Bay Area and the state saw its 12th significant atmospheric river of the winter. The death toll from the last weeks storm is up to five and there have been multiple injuries reported.

Some are describing the storm in San Francisco as “hurricane-like” as it had a center similar to an eye, as well as hurricane-force winds.

As Currently’s Director of Science, Anthony Torres, notes this was not truly an “eye” or a hurricane.

“This system is by no means tropical since the low-pressure center is primarily driven by the jet stream, but it does have some vague subtropical characteristics,” said Torres.

No matter what you call it, California has seen very damaging winds, heavy rain, and damage to communities this winter and into early spring.

However, it’s not all bad news, the state has seen so much rain and snow over the past few months, that this winter has eased the ongoing megadrought that impacted the region for the past several years. While the wet winter has far from fully resolved the water scarcity issues across most of the West, it is certainly a move in the direction needed.

—Abbie Veitch and Aarohi Sheth

What you can do, currently.