A soggy, gloomy Monday was expected to give way to a blusterous Tuesday that brings a wind advisory as gusts of up to 50 mph blow their way into the Philadelphia region ahead of the New Year.
Strong winds arrived behind a cold front that descended upon the Philly area Monday afternoon, dropping temperatures from the 50s into the 30s. The gusts arrived amid a wind advisory issued by the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly in effect through 1 p.m. Tuesday, with sustained wind speeds of up to 25 mph expected.
“There could be some lulls in the morning, but there is no clear signal as to when we will see the lowest lulls” in wind speed Tuesday, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist with the weather service. “It will pretty much be windy all through the morning into midday.”
With gusts potentially reaching into the 50-mph range, Johnson said, the primary concern for Philly-area residents was power outages caused by downed trees and broken tree limbs. That element will especially be a possibility following Monday’s rainy weather, which softened the ground in the area and primed it for potential treefall that could also bring down power lines.
Peco, meanwhile, has said that it is aware of the wind advisory, and that its crews are actively monitoring weather conditions while remaining ready to respond to potential outages. The company on social media also advised residents to steer clear of downed power lines and report outages on its website.
Johnson also noted that the high winds posed a risk to loose objects outdoors, such as holiday decorations and light furniture. Those items, she said, should be secured or taken indoors to keep them from potentially being lost or causing damage should they be taken away in a strong wind.
Additionally, Tuesday’s forecast strong winds could create challenges for drivers — particularly those behind the wheels of “high-profile vehicles” like SUVs, trucks, and other large cars. Essentially, the larger a vehicle is, or the higher off the ground it sits, the more it is apt to be pushed around in high winds, she said.
“The closer you are to the ground, the less likely you are to be impacted by high winds,” Johnson said.
Tuesday’s windy weather, meanwhile, is not an uncommon occurrence for December in the Philadelphia region, Johnson added. Strong cold fronts are known to bring with them windy conditions as temperatures drop — and the cold is likely to remain throughout the week as New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day come and go.
“It is normal for us to have the strongest temperature gradients — the biggest difference in temperature — in the winter seasons,” she said. “We tend to see those from late fall through early spring — pretty much prime season.”
The strongest winds are likely to move out later Tuesday, but Wednesday is expected to remain somewhat breezy, with gusts possibly reaching up to 20 mph. Those winds, however, fall well short of the wind forecast for Tuesday.
That may be welcome news for New Year’s Eve revelers set to ring in 2026 at Philadelphia’s first New Year’s Eve concert Wednesday. The concert, set to kick off at 8 p.m. on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, will feature performances by LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Los Angeles rock band Dorothy, and Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts graduate Adam Blackstone.
Though Tuesday’s windy weather will likely abate in time for the holiday, colder temperatures with a high around 32 degrees are expected Wednesday, so attendees ought to bundle up. New Year’s Day on Thursday fits a similar description, with highs hovering near freezing and breezes up to 20 mph, Johnson said. There is only a slight chance of “lingering light snow or flurries,” according to weather service forecasts.
“It’s likely to be dry, but cold and maybe breezy” the first day of 2026, Johnson said.
