William Claude Dukenfield (1880-1946), better known as W.C. Fields spent much of his youth in Philadelphia. He didn’t particularly dislike Philadelphia any more than he disliked dogs or children. Those were elements drawn from his films.
The observation about Philadelphia was from his film My Little Chickadee (with Mae West) when he was asked for a “last request” by a lynch mob. He stated that he would like to see Paris before he died, but he would settle for Philadelphia. The rest of the story, like most, is embellishment.
Thought of as the birthplace of the United States and the home of the Constitution there’s plenty to see in this town.
When the Liberty Bell and all the other political history starts to wane, you can always go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and strike a Rocky pose on its front steps, like Sylvester Stallone did in his movie of the same name, or drop by one of the largest museums in the country, the Neoclassical Museum, with over 200 separate galleries.
You can even visit the Eastern State Penitentiary where Al Capone served his first sentence, and see his cell, complete with fancy furniture and accoutrements that were not typical for a prison. The audio tour brings the building back to life.
When it gets right down to the weather of the area, Philadelphia has no dry season, with humidity ranging from a comfortable 40% up to 100% at its peak, which can be distinctly uncomfortable. Total precipitation is generally 1050 mm (41.5 inches).
If clear skies are your desire, plan to visit Philadelphia from mid-June to mid-November when the odds are 60% that you will experience clear skies. Most of the rest of the time Philadelphia experiences lots of cloud cover.
Precipitation in the area manifests itself as 69% rain (mostly of the light to moderate variety) 16% thunderstorms, and the remaining 15% as snow. Philadelphia finds itself straddling the dividing line between rain and snow when most storms go through.
Sometimes weather forecasters simply can’t predict what they’re going to get. But when you do get snow it can be ferocious, dropping 76 cm (30 inches) in one session, but then frequently followed by a warmer spell that quickly melts it away.
Philadelphia summers are hot and humid while the winters are cold and stormy. And if you love thunderstorms then you won’t be disappointed by its performance! Aficionados sometimes point them out as being frightening in their intensity.
Weather diversity thy name is Philadelphia!
Looking Around using Philadelphia Live Webcams
There are plenty of interesting webcams in Philly, but the one that will keep you coming back is the Falcon Cam on the Rachel Carson State Office Building, so named for the Pennsylvanian author that brought attention to the dangers of DDT and other pesticides. Here you can track the progress of nesting Peregrine falcons and, once their eggs hatch, see their young fledge.
The American Revolution Museum is under constant observation. You can even stream a time-lapse movie right from the beginning of construction all the way to its current state, which shows a snowfall or two, and how quickly they dissipate afterwards.
Similarly you can see the construction at Drexel University of a new residence for 1,300 students providing apartments and suites and a significant retail area.
If time-lapse construction is your thing, you can watch the building of the new Philly Live! entertainment and shopping center, too. Any of these time-lapse movies can show you how infrequent clear, bright, sunny days are in cloudy Philadelphia.
Of course, for instant and up to date imagery nothing beats traffic cams, of which Philadelphia has plenty. Just click on your highway, interstate, or Turnpike of choice, and there are dozens and dozens of cameras to look at.
Winter can be far from charming in Philly. Last year was the second-in-a-row of heavy snowfall, as explained in this video by a local meteorologist; this all occurred during a weak El Niño event. This year’s El Niño event is promising to be stronger and seems likely to keep the Polar Vortex at bay providing a mild winter.
Weather reporting in Philadelphia is available from Weatherspark. A six-day forecast is readily at hand, and by clicking on the hour-by-hour link, you can see if and when you’ll be getting sunlight, cloud cover, or rain, and be able to track the temperature over a 23-hour range. With another convenient click you can see Philadelphia weather over the course of the last year.
AccuWeather is no slouch when it comes to weather information. You can watch the quick video report to stay apprised of what’s going to happen today. With lots of colorful graphics it’s a more visually interesting site to view. Plus they have interesting things like the Astronomy Report to keep you in touch with the night sky, the Snow Day Report, and the School Day Report so you know how to dress your youngster and whether the school bus will be there to pick them up.
Weatherbug is not only informative with its video forecast, pollen forecast, Doppler radar, and National Weather Alerts, Local Weather Alerts, and reporting from its Hurricane Center, but it has a fun side as well where you can pick up the Sharknado Forecast, where they claim there is an Elevated Risk of Sharknados in the forecast.
It may not “Always be Sunny in Philadelphia”, but The City Of Brotherly Love generates about $10,000,000,000 in tourism revenue every year thanks to 40,000,000 domestic tourists visiting its 67 national historical landmarks and other city features.
Between the 60s and 80s gross national economic changes decreased the manufacturing foundation of the city and it faced bankruptcy in the late-80s. As the wealthy moved away and more immigrants moved into the city, the lowered tax revenues obliged them to rethink the city plan.
In the 1990s Philly began gentrifying many old neighborhoods; this resulted in stopping the outflow of residents and they actually begin to gain new population, reversing decades of loss. Philadelphia now has more outdoor artwork than any other city in the United States. Between that and the historical importance of the town, it’s a place well worth visiting.