Snow in the Lehigh Valley: How much did we get in January and what’s ahead for February?

Vehicles travel through the snow and slush Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Bethlehem as snow in the Lehigh Valley is expected to persist through the afternoon before tapering off.

With winter approaching the halfway point, the Lehigh Valley saw more snow in January than it did all of last winter.

10.4 inches of snow has been recorded at the Lehigh Valley International Airport over three separate storms this month, which is about 4 inches of snow more than what fell last winter.

The bulk of that came from the region’s first storm of the year, which brought 5.3 inches of snow the weekend of Jan. 6. The other two storms later in the month brought less snow.

The normal for January is about 9.8 inches, so the snowfall this month ended up being slightly above average, according to Ray Martin, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

It marked the first time since 2016 that there was double-digit snow in January in the Lehigh Valley, according to weather service data.

Lehigh Valley International Airport recorded 32.3 inches of snow that January The bulk of that was from one storm, which was the region’s biggest all-time snowfall.

While there’s no significant snow in the immediate forecast, there’s still two more months of winter for the snow to return.

“I will not say winter is definitely done by any means,” Martin said.

Normal snowfall for the Lehigh Valley in February totals about 10.8 inches, Martin said. He said historically there have been some big snowstorms in February, March and even April.

One storm brought more than 20 inches of snow to the area in February 2021.

However that is not the norm, and generally February tends to have a little more snow than January in the Lehigh Valley, according to Martin.

It’s been a few years since there was significant snowfall in March. There was 11.5 inches of snow recorded in March 2019. Only trace amounts of snow were recorded in March 2020 and March 2021. There was 4.7 inches of snow in March 2022 and 1.2 inches of snow last March.

The last time there was measurable snow in April locally was in 2018, when nearly 4 inches of snow fell.

The Lehigh Valley only saw 6.3 inches of snow between December 2022 and March 2023, according to weather service data. It was one of the least snowy winters in the past decade, second to the winter of 2019-20, when there was 5.3 inches of snow.

There was also above average rainfall for January as well, according to Martin. The 6.3 inches of rain was nearly double the average of roughly 3.3 inches.

Outside of possible light snow Wednesday, the Lehigh Valley will likely see clear or cloudy days the next week or so.

“Right now it looks quiet for the next week or two,” Martin said.

Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:

Wednesday: Scattered rain and snow showers before 2 p.m., then scattered sprinkles between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., then scattered sprinkles and flurries after 5 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 41. East wind around 5 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Southwest wind around 5 mph.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. West wind 5 to 15 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 44.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 41.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 25.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 43.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 26.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 41.

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