Deer hunters - at least those who haven't already marched into the woods this morning for rifle season's opening day - might want to pile a few layers under their orange vests before stepping out the door.
Temperatures through much of the region are likely to stay in the 30s or low 40s, meteorologists said Sunday, though more snow to help hunters spot their targets won't arrive until opening day is over.
"It will be cold, but not as cold as the past few days," Accuweather meteorologist Eric Leister said.
That means seasonably pleasant, if chilly, weather for Pennsylvania's unofficial work holiday, which is expected to feature hundreds of thousands of hunters setting out from Erie to the Delaware River.
"It's a pretty good day," said Kevin Fitzgerald, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College.
Dry air and no precipitation will equal good visibility, Fitzgerald said, and winds will likely be breezy at most.
Those roaming the state game lands along the mountain ridge west of Altoona are in for colder weather, he said. The low-lying valleys could reach the 40s today.
Sunrise, the season's official start, was projected for 7:13 a.m. according to The Weather Channel, though the state Game Commission website's prominent countdown clock placed the time more than 40 minutes earlier.
Blair County hunters hoping for easy targets set against a white backdrop will be disappointed Monday, the meteorologists said, but a weak low-pressure system to the south could bring at least an inch of snow to much of the region by Tuesday.
"That would be good news for the hunters," Leister said.
Parts of Bedford County, as well as southern Blair and Cambria counties, could get 2 to 3 inches in time for the season's second day, he said.
"They won't have it for the first day of hunting season, but they may get it by Tuesday," Fitzgerald said.
And for some lucky hunters in parts of Cambria County - including Lee Stanek of Hastings, owner of Bub's Hunting and Archery Supplies - snow has already piled up on the ground, making for a hopeful season start.
"If there's no snow on the ground, they can walk by you and you wouldn't even know," said Stanek, who noted that the bracing temperatures could make for less sluggish deer. "I think it should be a good day."
