A break in winter weather for Eagles-Vikings championship game

When the Eagles host the Vikings Sunday night, it's unlikely that the players will be battling the elements.

Temperatures during the game are forecast to be in the 40s, the winds will be almost dead calm, and any rain should hold off until well after the game.

A major upper-air pattern change is about to rout the alignment that has funneled cold air into the East since around Christmas.

Thursday's high didn't get out of the mid 30s, but if we can believe AccuWeather Inc.'s long-range outlook, it won't be that chilly again until at least Feb. 6.

It is more than a safe bet that winter will regain at least some of its sting before the blossoms make their appearances. When, however, is another matter

The two-week outlook issued by the government's Climate Prediction Center favors above-normal temperatures, but on the confidence scale the center rates the forecast just a 2 on a scale of 5.

For a variety of reasons, computer models have trouble guessing how that chaotic 10-mile deep atmosphere atop the Earth's surface is going to behave beyond the next several days.

We can with some certainty recount what has happened during the first half of the meteorological winter, which began Dec. 1 and ends Feb. 28.

(We know, it has been known to snow in March, but the weather community breaks down the season into tidy, three-month increments.)

Officially at Philadelphia International Airport, temperatures since Dec. 1 have averaged about 3 degrees below normal through Wednesday, 5.8 below normal since Jan. 1.

The official seasonal snowfall total stands at 12.9 inches. The normal amount to date would be 6.8.

The airport seasonal figure might need an asterisk. As we've written, the airport measurements have a lengthy history of controversy, and the weather service has another new contractor doing the honors this season.

The total reported for Wednesday's snowfall was a meager 0.2.

Tom Fulmer at the phillywx.com discussion board — which we continue to recommend – is skeptical.

This wasn't the Storm of the Century, but the image he provided suggests a tad more than 0.2.

Looking at the seasonal totals to date posted on the board, many of them supplied by trained observers, other places in the Philly metro area have higher totals.

Right now, it appears those numbers aren't going to change for awhile.