A Hellertown public works department plow truck sits inside the borough complex garage as snow falls outside (FILE PHOTO)
For anyone who thought that with March 2019 would come spring-like weather, Mother Nature is apparently out to prove you wrong. The Saucon Valley area will have two chances for accumulating snow and will experience unseasonable cold in the coming days, forecasters say.
The first chance of snow will come Friday night and Saturday, which is when a winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service will be in effect.
The advisory for 2 to 4 inches of snow plus an ice accumulation of a “light glaze” will be in effect from 9 p.m. tonight through 7 a.m. Saturday, the NWS said in a statement this afternoon.
“Plan on slippery road conditions with reduced visibilities at times Friday night into Saturday morning,” the statement said.
Slippery roads were also an issue Friday morning, when more snow than was expected from a weak passing weather sytem fell and resulted in a two-hour delayed start for Saucon Valley and other area school districts.
Later this weekend, there is the potential for a bigger storm to deposit a more significant amount of snow than the area has seen in some time, forecasters are saying.
“A winter storm Sunday night into early Monday has the potential to produce significant snowfall and hazardous travel,” National Weather Service forecasters said in a hazardous weather outlook statement Friday. “Some areas could also transition to a wintry mix for a time.”
In the wake of Monday’s storm, colder than normal air is forecast to invade the Mid-Atlantic states, with low temperatures that are around 15 degrees lower than normal expected.
Monday’s low is forecast to be 14 degrees, Tuesday’s forecast low is 12 and by Wednesday night the temperature is predicted to drop to just 11 degrees.
If Saucon Valley schools are closed additional days due to weather, the closures could affect the district’s calendar, since the four allotted snow days for 2018-2019 have already been used.