A Hellertown public works department plow truck sits inside the borough garage, as snow falls in March 2018. (FILE PHOTO)
In advance of a winter storm that is forecast to affect our area this weekend the National Weather Service Thursday issued a winter storm watch for the Lehigh Valley for 5 to 10 inches of snow as well as ice.
The watch is in effect from 1 p.m. Saturday through 4 p.m. Sunday, which is when the NWS says heavy mixed precipitation including a tenth of an inch of ice is possible.
“Travel could be difficult on icy and snow-covered roads,” the watch statement said. “Power outages may also be possible due to a combination of strong winds and ice accretions.”
Local utilities are on alert due to the possibility of ice, with PPL Electric Utilities Corp. announcing Thursday that “PPL Electric Utilities is preparing for Winter Storm Harper and will be ready to respond if the forecasted ice and wind produce power outages.”
“This expected combination of snow, freezing rain and wind is predicted to produce outages,” PPL Director of Operations Dave Quier said in a news release. “We’ll have the workers and materials in place to get the lights back on as safely and as quickly as possible.”
Customers experiencing power outages or other issues should visit www.pplelectric.com or call 1-800-342-5775. In case of an emergency, they are advised to dial 911. Click here to view the company’s Outage Center map.
Lehigh Valley Weather Authority, in a first call forecast for the storm Thursday afternoon, said there is the possibility of an ice storm to develop across a swath of Pennsylvania between Harrisburg, the Lehigh Valley and the southern Poconos.
Heavy snow will overspread the area Saturday evening and change to freezing rain and sleet overnight. “(The) wild card will be, just how fast does that precipation switch over,” the LVWA forecaster stated.
In previous statements about the approaching storm, the NWS also warned about the possibility of a “flash freeze” Sunday, when Arctic air arrives and temperatures are forecast to rapidly fall from the 30s to the single digits.
Sunday’s forecast high is 36 degrees, while Sunday night’s forecast low is just 7 degrees.
In the meantime, a more modest weather system is expected to bring a bit of light snow to the area overnight Thursday and early Friday.
One to two inches of snow are possible, according to the National Weather Service, which said precipitation will begin after 9 p.m., with the highest amounts likely in the Lehigh Valley, Berks County, and across northwestern New Jersey and the Poconos.
“Hazardous travel is possible and there could be some impact on the Friday morning commute,” a NWS hazardous weather outlook stated.
Saucon Valley public schools will be closed Friday for a teacher in-service day, and students will also be off on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day.
Some government offices and businesses will also be closed for the holiday, which forecasters say will be a frigid one.
Monday’s high temperature is expected to be 12 degrees, and the mercury is forecast to drop to 4 degrees Monday night.
Wind chills in the Lehigh Valley Monday morning could be as low as -15, according to a PA Weather Action Facebook post.
