Note: The winter weather advisory issued for Northampton County has been expanded to include Lehigh, Berks and Upper Bucks counties in Pennsylvania and Hunterdon County, N.J.
It’s been nearly two years since Lehigh Valley residents have had to deal with much of the white stuff, but that extended “snow drought” could soon end–at least for some–according to forecasters.
Heavy snow obscures the gas pumps at Wawa on 25th Street in Palmer Township, Northampton County, during an intense snow squall in 2022. (FILE PHOTO)
The National Weather Service and meteorologists from other organizations have been monitoring a developing winter storm that is expected to affect the mid-Atlantic region Saturday and Sunday, and although snowfall totals in much of the Lehigh Valley are forecast to be fairly modest, the mixture of snow, sleet and rain the storm will bring could affect events and travel over the weekend.
As of Friday afternoon, a winter weather advisory had been issued for Northampton County from 1 p.m. Saturday until 6 p.m. Sunday for 3 to 6 inches of snow. Further north, Carbon and Monroe counties in the Poconos are under a winter storm warning for 6 to 10 inches of snow. Further west and south, Lehigh and Berks counties were not under any National Weather Service advisories until approximately 3 p.m., when the NWS expanded the advisory for Northampton County to include them, along with Upper Bucks County in Pennsylvania and Hunterdon County, N.J.
Forecast maps produced for a storm briefing by the NWS office at Mount Holly, N.J., show a sharp cutoff between areas of heavy snow to the north of the Blue Mountain and mixed precipitation across the Lehigh Valley, with another cutoff north of Philadelphia forming the dividing line between areas that will see some frozen precipitation and areas that are expected to see only rain.
According to the latest forecast, in Northampton County snow should begin before 3 p.m. Saturday, before possibly mixing with rain in the late afternoon. A changeover back to snow is expected before 5 p.m., before rain and snow again mix together after 8 p.m. The mixed precipitation is likely to continue until around 4 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
Anyone with travel plans during this period is being advised to slow down and use caution on the roads, which could become slippery.
In Hellertown, a memorial service that was scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Heintzelman Funeral Home has been postponed due to the forecast.
Although the weekend storm is good news for snow-starved ski resorts in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos, any powder that accumulates may not stick around for long. Another coastal storm is expected to affect the area Tuesday and instead of snow is likely to bring heavy rain and gusty winds to the region, which could lead to flooding and power outages, according to NWS forecasters.
