A clear blue sky contrasted with freshly-fallen snow provided a stunning backdrop for Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church on Saucon Valley Road in Upper Saucon Township Wednesday.
The coldest air so far this season has invaded the area, and unlike last winter’s polar air masses it’s sticking around for a bit, giving local residents a taste of what an old-fashioned winter is like.
The dramatic drop in temperatures follows a winter storm that dropped three to four inches of snow on the Lehigh Valley Tuesday; and you’d better keep those shovels handy, forecasters say.
Most schools were closed Tuesday and could be shuttered again on Friday, when the area is supposed to receive another 2 to 4 inches of snow, to be followed by another punch of bitterly cold air.
Wednesday’s low temperature at Lehigh Valley International Airport was 9 degrees and the afternoon high struggled to reach the mid 20s. The average low is 21 and the average high is 38.
Temperatures are forecast to remain within that range, roughly, until Monday, when they will rebound into the 30s.
In advance of the next winter weather system, the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory from 12 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday for Northampton, Lehigh and Bucks counties for 2 to 4 inches of snow.
Motorists should plan for slippery conditions, which could be particularly impactful during the morning and evening rush hours, the advisory statement said.
After the snow ends, “temperatures will rapidly drop into the teens late Friday night,” the statement indicated. Consequently, “any untreated roads will become icy and dangerous.”
Although temperatures were often well above normal during the first two weeks of January, the deep freeze that began earlier this week has already produced a layer of ice on the D&L Canal in Riegelsville, Bucks County.
The Saucon Creek flows past Old Mill Road in Lower Saucon Township Wednesday.
The snow-covered Old Mill Road pedestrian bridge in Lower Saucon Township proved to be a chilly place to stop and watch the ducks and geese that frequent the section of Saucon Creek that passes below it.
Footprints in the snow tell the story of visitors to the Old Mill Road bridge along the Saucon Creek.
The popular Saucon Rail Trail was quiet Wednesday. Although there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, bitterly cold temperatures kept many trail users inside.
A stone outbuilding next to the Heller-Wagner Grist Mill in Hellertown was covered in snow.
Home to the Hellertown Historical Society, the Heller-Wagner Grist Mill has weathered many snowstorms.
All was quiet along Constitution Avenue in Hellertown Wednesday afternoon. Mountainview Moravian Church can be seen at left.
Hellertown’s Dimmick Park presented visitors with a frozen landscape Wednesday.
The setting sun cast long shadows across the baseball field at Dimmick Park in Hellertown Wednesday.
The snow-covered Saucon Valley School District campus is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024.
A sign advertising Lost River Caverns in Hellertown is located along the D&L Canal at the intersection of Durham and Easton roads in Riegelsville, Bucks County.
Ice covers the D&L Canal in Riegelsville, Bucks County, Wednesday.
The Delaware River is visible through the trees along its west bank just south of Riegelsville on Wednesday.
A kind of ice sculpture envelopes the branches of a tree in Springtown, Bucks County.
A street in Springtown is free of snow on Wednesday afternoon.
A sign advertising Frigid Freeze in Riegelsville seemed particularly appropriate on a day when temperatures struggled to reach the mid 20s.
