Update: Power out to 14,000 in Lehigh Valley as high winds down trees, wires after snow squalls move out

Flags whip as the wind picks up outside Emmaus High School during a storm Tuesday, Jan. 9 2024, in Emmaus.

High winds are leading to downed trees and widespread power outages across the Lehigh Valley on Sunday afternoon, after snow squalls moved across the region earlier.

As of 4 p.m., power was out to more than 14,000 customers in Lehigh and Northampton counties. PPL reported more than 11,000 of those outages.

In Northampton County, Bethlehem and Lower Saucon Township were particularly hard hit, with about 5,000 outages between the two municipalities, according to PPL’s outage map. Lehigh Township had about 1,700 outages.

In Lehigh County, Lower Macungie Township was reporting a high number of outages, just over 3,000, according to PPL. Upper Saucon Township had around 2,000 outages, and Washington Township had around 1,700.

Across PPL’s 29-county service area, nearly 58,000 customers were without power Sunday afternoon.

Met-Ed reported just over 3,000 customers without power in Northampton County. Many of those outages were concentrated around the Slate Belt area.

There are numerous downed trees, utility poles and power lines across the region, according to emergency radio dispatches.

PPL crews are responding to those incidents and working to restore power, according to PPL spokesperson Jane George.

“Our crews are working around the clock and are ready to respond to any additional outages caused by sustained winds through this evening,” George said.

A wind advisory from the National Weather Service remains in effect for the region until 5 p.m. Winds of 20 to 30 mph will continue, with possible gusts of 40 to 50 mph, according to the advisory.

George advised people who still have power to keep their phones and other devices charged in case they lose power later. She also reminded people to avoid downed wires and to keep a safe distance from utility crews.

Those who have lost power should use flashlights instead of candles to avoid fires. If using a portable generator, do not run it indoors as it can lead to a deadly buildup of carbon monoxide.

Snow squalls move out

While the wind is causing problems, the threat of snow squalls has passed. Earlier Sunday, the weather service warned that “dangerous” squalls capable of causing near-whiteout conditions were moving across eastern Pennsylvania.

A snow squall warning that included southern parts of the Lehigh Valley expired at 11:45 a.m. Two separate warnings — one that included Montgomery and southeastern Berks counties, and another for Monroe and carbon counties in the Poconos — expired at 12:30 p.m.

Intense bursts of heavy snow and wind gusts greater than 35 mph were being produced by those squalls, leading to rapidly falling visibility, according to the weather service.

For the most part, the Lehigh Valley avoided the worst of the squalls, with most areas just seeing snow showers.

The squalls also led to whiteout conditions Sunday morning across other parts of Pennsylvania.

The weather service’s State College forecast office shared side-by-side photos from a PennDOT traffic camera, taken just 4 minutes apart, showing Interstate 80 in Clearfield County going from completely passable to snow-covered amid whitehout conditions.

Next storm

Looking ahead to the coastal storm expected to impact the region early this week, it’s no longer shaping up to be the blockbuster that some forecasting models were projecting just days ago. A rapid strengthening of the storm that would have led to higher snowfall totals is no longer expected.

“A widespread significant 6+ inch snowfall event is not anticipated based on latest guidance,” according to the forecast discussion from the weather service’s Mount Holly, N.J., office.

However, the region won’t go unscathed, and snow is now a near certainty for any precipitation that moves into our region, as the system will have enough cold air available, according to the forecast discussion.

The snow will likely start late Monday night, earlier than expected, and continue into Tuesday.

A 1- to 3-inch snowfall over most of the region is the likely outcome, according to the forecast discussion. However, the Lehigh Valley could be in the higher end of that range.

The weather service’s snowfall projection map released late Sunday afternoon shows most of Lehigh and Northampton counties expected to receive 3 to 4 inches of snow. Portions of eastern and northern Northampton counties could see slightly lower accumulation.

Extended forecast

Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17. West wind 10 to 15 mph.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 29. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Monday Night: Snow likely, mainly after 1 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 24. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Tuesday: Snow, mainly before 4 p.m. High near 31. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Tuesday Night: A chance of snow before 7 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 14. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 25.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 18. Breezy.

Thursday: Cloudy, with a high near 32.

Thursday Night: A chance of snow after 1 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 23. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17. Blustery.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 23. Blustery.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. Blustery.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 29. Blustery.

This story will be updated.

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