Snow moves out of the Lehigh Valley after coastal storm delivers up to a foot of snow, causing widespread power outages

Warren Smith uses a snowbIower to clear a sidewalk Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Bethlehem. “It’s very heavy,” Smith said of the snow that fell during Tuesday’s storm.

NEW STORY: Pretty, but treacherous: Storm clobbers the Lehigh Valley, delivering biggest snowfall of season

Heavy snow walloped the Lehigh Valley on Tuesday morning as a coastal storm dropped nearly a foot of snow in areas in what is the region’s biggest snowfall of the season.

At about 11:30 a.m., National Weather Service radar showed the storm moving out of the area, with no additional snowfall expected. The winter storm warning, which had been in effect until 3 p.m., was canceled.

Both Lehigh and Northampton counties had areas that received about a foot of snow.

Early snowfall reports from the weather service showed Weisenberg Township and Washington Township had 12.3 inches of snow, making it the highest snowfall accumulation in Lehigh County. In Northampton County, Bangor had the highest snowfall count at 12 inches.

Lehigh Valley International Airport recorded 9.1 inches of snow, beating the previous single-day storm total this season of 5.3 inches on Jan. 6.

In the Poconos, snow totals were even higher. More than 14 inches was reported in Tobyhanna, according to the weather service.

How much snow fell in the Lehigh Valley? Totals from around the region

Tom Kines, meteorologist for AccuWeather, said temperatures will drop below freezing again Tuesday night. He encouraged residents to clear snow and slush while it was still sunny out.

“Once the temperatures goes below freezing tonight it’s all going to freeze up again,” he said.

Even after the snow moved out of the area, its effects were still being felt. The wet snow downed numerous trees and power lines around the region, causing widespread power outages. At the peak of the outages around 11 a.m., more than 16,000 customers are without power, according to outage data from PPL and Met-Ed.

Met-Ed, which also distributes electricity in the two counties, reported about 27,000 outages systemwide as of about 10:30 a.m., spokesperson Todd Meyers said. Met-Ed is in more than a dozen counties.

“We have been able to restore power, but we continue to get new outages,” Meyers said.

He said the storm is bringing heavy, water-laden precipitation, which can cause trees to sag and fall into utility lines, damaging wires and poles. He also said it was initially difficult for crews to assess the damage while the snow was falling, with slippery and unsafe road conditions.

Those road conditions led to numerous vehicles getting stuck, according to police radio dispatches. Late Tuesday morning, Palmer Township police reported that Tatamy Road was closed between Hackett Avenue and Crest Boulevard.

There were also downed trees and wires on Route 145 in both directions between Neffs Laurys Road and Rising Sun Road in North Whitehall Township.

Police in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton all said there were no major issues from the storm Tuesday.

PennDOT reduced speed limits to 45 mph and restricted some tractor-trailers and other vehicles on Interstate 78, Route 22 and Route 33 during the storm. Those restrictions were all lifted early Tuesday afternoon.

LANTA, which had been operating its bus service on a snow emergency, suspended service at 7:30 a.m. due to the deteriorating conditions.

During the heaviest snow early Tuesday morning, snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour were possible, according to the weather service.

In its forecast discussion Tuesday morning, the weather service noted that early spotter reports indicated that forecasters had overestimated the amount of dry air involved with the storm, and accumulations were exceeding expectations. That prompted the weather service to increase its snowfall projections.

Patrick O’Hara, meteorologist for the Mount Holly weather service office, said the storm started as rain just before midnight and changed to snow by about 1:30 a.m. The snow did not get heavy until about 6:30 a.m., he said.

The storm prompted all school districts in the Lehigh Valley to close or have virtual learning. A number of municipalities in both Lehigh County and Northampton County announced snow emergencies as well.

Tuesday’s snowstorm marks the first this month and the first in several weeks. The storm nearly brought as much snow in one day as what was recorded in all of January.

Last month, Lehigh Valley International Airport recorded 10.4 inches of snow from three storms, according to weather service data. That location reported 9.1 inches Tuesday alone.

Outside of Tuesday, there is a slight chance of snow Thursday and Saturday.

Here is the extended forecast from the National Weather Service:

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 35. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 19. West wind around 5 mph.

Thursday: A slight chance of snow after 1 p.m., mixing with rain after 4 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Thursday Night: A chance of rain, mainly between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 39. Breezy.

Friday Night: A chance of snow after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday: A chance of rain and snow before 1 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 24.

Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.

Reporter Anthony Salamone contributed to this report.

Lehigh Valley school closings, snow emergencies and other storm-related announcements

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