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Over the years, the Philadelphia area has experienced many powerful snowstorms. Some of these storms shut down roads, closed schools, and even kept people indoors for days. Snow is common here, but a few storms were so severe that people still talk about them years later. As we prepare for an upcoming winter storm, here’s a look back at the past storms that left a lasting mark on the region: Blizzard of 1996 Thirty years ago, the Blizzard of ’96 brought over two feet of snow to the Philadelphia region. The storm lasted from January 6 to January 10, with the heaviest impact on January 7 and 8. At the time, the previous snowfall record for the Philadelphia region was 21.3 inches, set in 1983. The Blizzard of ’96 delivered 30.7 inches. Snowstorm of 2009 On December 19, 2009 a major snowstorm hit the region just days before the holidays. Philadelphia receiving 23.2 inches of snow, making it one of the city’s biggest snowstorms on record. The weather forced the Eagles into a later game against the 49ers and even caused the Philadelphia International Airport to shut down . Snowmaggedon of February 2010 February of 2010 brought back-to-back storms. Two powerful snowstorms hit the Philadelphia region within one week, dumping large amounts of snow. Philadelphia recieved 28.5 inches of snow. Blizzard of 2016 Another major storm struck the region in January 2016. The storm happened Janaury 22 and lasted through Janauary 24. Area’s such as Allentown, Pennsylvania received 31.9 inches of snow, while Philadelphia recorded 22.4 inches. At least 30 people died during the storm, including three in Pennsylvania, as it impacted the East Coast. In New Jersey, hundreds of motorists drove despite warnings, resulting in 222 crashes and 868 calls for assistance, according to New Jersey State Police. Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend storm As a new winter storm approaches, the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team is monitoring the forecast closely. Snow is expected to arrive late Saturday, Jan. 24, with heavy snow developing into the morning of Sunday, Jan. 25, and continuing throughout the day. The Philadelphia region and surrounding suburbs are expected to get 9 to 13 inches of snow, the Lehigh Valley is expected to get 13 to 18 inches of snow, South Jersey is expected to get 5 to 9 inches of snow and coastal Delaware and the Jersey Shore is expected to get 3 to 5 inches of snow. Get the latest updates on how the area is preparing by clicking here.

From this Friday through Sunday, a winter storm is expected to affect millions of people in the United States, impacting air travel. “When adverse weather conditions or other uncontrollable events affect your flight and travel dates, you may be able to change your trip without an additional charge,” American Airlines states on its website. As thousands of people may have questions about the status of their flights, the airline says it is working 24 hours a day to assist customers. They assure that affected passengers will be contacted via email or through app notifications. Extreme Weather Jan 21 A January freeze is taking hold across the U.S. with little sign of letting up weather Jan 21 How to prepare for the winter storm that is set to hit half of the U.S. this weekend However, they note that change fees will be waived if you: Are traveling on an American Airlines flight Have a reservation in any fare class, including Basic Economy Purchased your ticket before Jan. 19, 2026 Are scheduled to travel between Jan. 23-25, 2026 Can travel between Jan. 21-28, 2026 Do not change your origin or destination city Rebook in the same cabin or pay the fare difference Please note that: Changes must be booked by Jan. 25, 2026 Travel must be completed within one year of the original ticket date; a fare difference may apply To change your trip, if you meet the requirements, you can do so online by following these steps: Find your trip on the website or app. If your trip qualifies, you will see the “change trip” option in the toolbar. If you are unable to change your trip through the website, you can call American Airlines reservations at 800-433-7300. Delta offers flight changes with no additional fees Delta Airlines reported that due to the approaching adverse winter conditions, it will help customers manage their travel by allowing those with existing reservations to change their flights without additional fees. “The safety of Delta customers and our staff remains our top priority, so we closely monitor forecasts to determine necessary adjustments to flight schedules,” the company said. To change your flight, visit Delta.com or the mobile app, and “as always, if a flight is canceled or a delay causes a missed connection, Delta will rebook passengers on the next available flight,” the airline stated. “If travel is rescheduled for Jan. 28, 2026, or earlier, in the same class of service as the original reservation, no fare difference will apply. A fare difference may apply if the waiver is restricted to a specific class and the original booking class is not maintained on the rescheduled itinerary,” they said. If the trip is rescheduled after Jan. 28, 2026, a fare difference may apply. Passengers are advised to check their flight status frequently for the most up-to-date information. Customers can also receive updates directly on their mobile devices or by email, where Delta will notify them as far in advance as possible about changes to flight schedules.

Villanova University was closed on Thursday after, school officials said, the university received a ‘threat of violence targeted at an academic building’ early in the morning. However, after finding no reports of activity posing a danger on campus, school officials permitted students to move freely throughout the campus and some buildings were available for student use. “The FBI and law enforcement agencies are continuing their investigation, and we are now aware that even more universities have received a similar threat,” school officials said in an update. “Given this information and after law enforcement’s safety assessment, individuals on campus no longer need to remain indoors. It is safe to be out on campus. All in-person classes and activities are still canceled, and all academic buildings will remain closed.” Officials said some buildings — including the main dining halls, Dougherty, Donahue, and St. Mary’s Hall — were open for residential students. The Connelly Center, Falvey Memorial Library, and the Student Health Center were also opened for student use as of 11 a.m.  By 2:30 p.m., officials gave a final “all-clear” for the campus. However, classes and activities were still cancelled and all academic buildings would remain closed for the remainder of the day, officials said. School officials said they have received no reports of any activity posing a danger to the campus, and an increased police presence would remain on campus throughout the day “out of an abundance of caution.” The school noted that it would close for the day on its website and officials said the campus will return to normal operations on Friday, Jan. 23. Investigators have not yet provided more information about the threat. The incident was the third time in the 2025-2026 school year that Villanova students and staff dealt with threats. In late August 2025, false reports of an active shooter at Villanova caused confusion on two occasions. Léelo en español aquí Villanova was one of at least two universities that received threats on Thursday. The NYPD provided heightened security at New York University after emails threatened violence at two buildings, officials said. Both NYU buildings were eventually given the all-clear and classes resumed. It’s unclear if the threats at Villanova and NYU are connected.

After conducting studies, collecting surveys and gathering input from stakeholders, the School District of Philadelphia, on Thursday, released a master plan that calls for 20 district owned properties to be closed. The plan also calls for 12 of these properties to be repurposed for the district’s use while the remaining eight properties will be conveyed to the city to be used for workforce housing or job creation. Some properties impacted by closures, co-merging, moves and phase outs include: Closing Robert Morris Elementary and reassigning students to William D. Kelley Elementary School and Bache-Martin School. The Morris building will be repurposed as a hub for the District’s Office of Diverse Learners. Closing Samuel Pennypacker School and reassigning students to Franklin S. Edmonds Elementary School and Anna B. Day School. Closing John Welsh Elementary School and reassigning students to John Hartranft School and William McKinley Elementary School. The Welsh building will be modernized and repurposed as a new year-round high school. Closing James R. Ludlow School and reassigning students to Paul L. Dunbar School, Spring Garden School, and General Philip Kearny School. The Ludlow building will be conveyed to the City of Philadelphia for repurposing for affordable workforce housing and/or job creation. Closing Laura W. Waring School and reassigning students to Bache-Martin School. The Waring building will be modernized and repurposed as the home of Masterman Middle School. Closing Overbrook Elementary School and reassigning students to Lewis C. Cassidy Plus Academics, Guion S. Bluford Elementary School, John Barry Elementary School, and Edward Heston School. The Overbrook Elementary building will be modernized and repurposed as District network offices. Closing Rudolph Blankenburg School and reassigning students to James Rhoads Elementary School, Edward Heston School, and the newly co-located Martha Washington Academics Plus School/Middle Years Alternative School. The Blankenburg building will be conveyed to the City of Philadelphia for repurposing for affordable workforce housing and/or job creation. Closing Fitler Academics Plus after phase out. The Fitler building will be conveyed to the City of Philadelphia or sold. Phasing out General Louis Wagner Middle School and growing Prince Hall School, Joseph Pennell Elementary School, William Rowan School, Julia Ward Howe School, and Ellwood School. The Wagner building will be conveyed to the City of Philadelphia or sold. Phasing out Stetson Middle School and growing Lewis Elkin Elementary School and William Cramp Elementary School. The Stetson building will be repurposed as District swing space. Phasing out Warren G. Harding Middle School and growing James J. Sullivan School (which will move to the old Harding site), John Marshall School, Henry W. Lawton School, and Laura H. Carnell School. Phasing out William T. Tilden’s Middle School and growing Thomas G. Morton School, John M. Patterson School, and Joseph W. Catharine School. The Tilden building will be modernized and repurposed into an athletics and sports facility for Bartram High School. Phasing out Academy for the Middle Years at Northwest (AMY NW). The AMY NW building will be conveyed to the City of Philadelphia or sold. Closing Lankenau High School and merging the Lankenau program into Roxborough High School as an honors program. The Lankenau building will be conveyed to the City of Philadelphia or sold. Closing Motivation High School and merging the Motivation program into John Bartram High School as an honors program. The Motivation building will be repurposed as District swing space. Closing Paul Robeson High School and merging the Robeson program into William L. Sayre High School as an honors program with investments in CTE spaces and dual enrollment opportunities. The Robeson building will be conveyed to the City of Philadelphia or sold. Closing Parkway Northwest High School and merging the…

Michelle Obama opened up on “Call Her Daddy” about whether she believes the U.S. is ready for a female president. The former first lady discussed a wide range of topics during her interview with Alex Cooper on the Jan. 21 episode of the podcast, including the scrutiny she faced while in the public eye and the media’s focus on her appearance during Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. Obama also expanded on comments she made last November about whether she would ever consider running for president herself and what that says about the country’s readiness for a woman in the Oval Office. “As we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” Obama said. “That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not.” She previously touched on the subject during a conversation with actor Tracee Ellis Ross for a live taping of her podcast, “IMO,” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Nov. 5, 2025. Ross asked Obama whether serving as first lady had affected “the room that we’ve made for a woman to be president.” “You know, we got a lot of growing up to do,” Obama said. “And there’s still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman, and we saw it.” Speaking with Cooper, Obama elaborated further. “We’ve come a long way,” she said. “Whether people really feel yet that they can follow a woman as president… we’d be silly to think there aren’t some gut… I don’t know, like we’re not even analyzing what those feelings are about because we’re trying to pretend it’s all better.” “How could it be all better?” she continued. “We’ve been feeding off this bone for so long, it doesn’t just go away. It takes time. But we’re moving. We are moving in that direction.” Michelle Obama Nov 15, 2025 Michelle Obama says the U.S. is ‘not ready' for a woman president Michelle Obama Aug 14, 2025 The 3 words of dating advice Michelle Obama gave her daughters celebrity couples Jul 16, 2025 Barack and Michelle Obama break silence on divorce rumors “There are men out there who would not vote for a woman,” she said. “Let’s just be real about it and put that on the table and talk about what that’s about.” “Let’s not be mad because I made the statement,” Obama added. “Let’s look at the fact that we’ve had two really qualified female candidates.” “We have qualified women. They’re not perfect, they don’t cross every T and dot every I, there’s a falling-shortness that happens,” she said. “But why can’t we talk about that? Why are we pretending that didn’t just happen?” Cooper noted that some critics have argued that disliking certain candidates does not necessarily mean the country isn’t ready for a woman president. “We’re still growing,” Obama responded. “I think it’s going to happen. Are we ready now? I don’t know. Let’s prove us wrong. I would love that.” Cooper also raised a hypothetical scenario in which President Donald Trump changes the law and runs for a third term, asking whether Barack Obama would ever consider returning to politics. “I hope not,” Obama said. “I would actively work against that. I would be at home working against it.” “I do believe in the need for new vision,” she added. “This is a hard job, and it requires new energy, new vision all the time, new ways of looking at the world. So, I do think that eight years is enough.” “How are we going to build new leaders if the same people keep doing it again and again and again?”