The National Weather Service has updated its winter weather advisory for accumulating snow for Lehigh, Northampton and upper Bucks counties Monday night and Tuesday morning.
The advisory for snow across eastern Pennsylvania is in effect through 4 p.m. Tuesday, by which time 3 to 5 inches will have fallen, the NWS alert said.
With temperatures remaining well below freezing Monday, any precipitation snow that falls should quickly start to accumulate, which could lead to slick conditions on area roadways by Tuesday.
This could be especially problematic for Tuesday morning commuters, and the NWS warned that motorists should “plan on slippery road conditions.”
If schools are closed Tuesday due to the winter weather, it will be the first snow day for most students and staff in nearly two years, on account of last year’s nearly snow-free winter season.
There will be another opportunity for snow later in the week, according to the latest forecast for the Lehigh Valley, which shows a 50 percent chance of snow on Friday.
Just as newsworthy as any snow that falls will be the colder-than-normal temperatures that are expected this week, when high temperatures will struggle to surpass the freezing point.
The forecast for Allentown points to Saturday as the coldest day. A forecast high of 24 and low of 14 could be further compounded by wind chill, as it notes that “blustery” conditions are expected.
The average high tempearture this time of year is around 35 degrees and the average low is around 20; averages that are calculated based on nearly a century of temperature records at Allentown.
