Traffic was light on Main Street (Rt. 412) in Hellertown as snow began to fall heavily Wednesday morning. This photo was taken in the 400 block of Main Street.
The snowstorm that is forecast to drop upwards of a foot of snow in the Saucon Valley arrived with a vengeance around mid-morning Wednesday.
Precipitation began as rain Tuesday night, but changed to snow overnight.
That snow became heavy around 10:30 a.m., when it began to accumulate on roads and sidewalks, which quickly became treacherous.
Although traffic was relatively light throughout the area–with local schools and many businesses closed in advance of the storm–one accident involving a tractor-trailer was reported on Lower Saucon Road between Easton and Applebutter roads in Lower Saucon Township.
A truck became disabled after apparently sliding into a guard rail along Lower Saucon Road between Easton and Applebutter roads in Lower Saucon Township Wednesday afternoon. Police responded to the scene.
A witness said the truck appeared to have slid into a guide rail along the hilly section of road, and added that at least two other trucks had become stuck in the same general area.
Police responded to the accident scene and traffic was able to get around the disabled truck, the witness said.
PennDOT lowered speed limits to 45 mph on Interstate 78 and other state highways Wednesday morning, and I-78 eastbound between the Rt. 412 (Hellertown) exit and Rt. 33 was reported to be closed around lunchtime.
Authorities are advising motorists to avoid travel unless it’s absolutely necessary.
The entire area remains under a winter storm warning until 3 a.m. Thursday, with the National Weather Service forecasting a total snow accumulation of 10 to 14 inches. “Localized amounts (of) up to 16 inches are expected,” the NWS said.
“Travel will be very difficult to impossible, including during the evening commute,” according to the NWS. “Snowfall rates of nearly 2 inches an hour are expected at times through 7 p.m. If the snow is wet and clings to trees and wires…branches would break and power outages would result.”
As of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, only isolated power outages had been reported in the Saucon Valley area.
According to the PPL outage center map, one weather-related outage affecting two customers near Wassergass Road and Pine Manor Drive is expected to be remedied by 3 p.m.
Another outage near White Acre Drive and Bingen Road is due to tree limbs on wires, per the map. Crews have been sent to make repairs, and power is forecast to be restored by 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Tree limbs on wires are also reportedly the cause of an outage affecting one customer at Waldheim and Flint Hill roads, which is also supposed to be repaired by 11 p.m.
The borough parking lot on Delaware Avenue by the Hellertown post office was full of cars moved off snow emergency routes.
The parking lot at Dimmick Park in Hellertown quickly turned white after snow began to fall heavily and accumulate around 10:30 a.m.
A Hellertown public works snow plow inside the borough garage, shortly before snow began to accumulate on the roads Wednesday morning.
I-78 East between Rt. 412 and Rt. 33 was closed to traffic because of the storm. The speed limit on the highway was also reduced to 45 mph.
The Hellertown Pool was a ghostly but welcome reminder that warmer days are ahead.
