Some of the coldest air in several years has arrived in eastern Pennsylvania–including the Saucon Valley area–and temperatures are forecast to remain well below normal over the next couple of days. The frigid blast follows a winter storm that dumped around 6 inches of snow on the Lehigh Valley on Sunday.
Saucon Valley schools were closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday and for an in-service day Tuesday, so students had time to play outside in the snow. Public safety officials and meteorologists are recommending that anyone who spends significant periods of time outside should dress appropriately by wearing ample layers and covering any exposed skin.
“The cold wind chills as low as 15 below zero could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken,” National Weather Service officials said in a statement Tuesday. “Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures.”
The NWS has also issued a cold weather advisory for Northampton, Lehigh, Upper Bucks and other counties across eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey through noon Wednesday.
Pets should be kept indoors as much as possible and individuals should check on anyone who may be susceptible to cold weather-related illnesses, including the elderly.
Space heaters should be monitored while in use and items such as generators and barbecue grills should not be used for heating homes due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
At noon Tuesday, the temperature in Allentown was just 12 degrees, with a high of 15 forecast that afternoon. Tuesday night’s low was expected to be 1 degree, according to the latest NWS forecast.
Following another bitterly cold day on Wednesday, extended forecasts show temperatures moderating slightly on Thursday and Friday before warming to near normal levels over the weekend.
Above, Hellertown’s Detwiller Plaza is covered by snow and ice. With temperatures expected to remain well below freezing for several days the fountain’s ice formations will continue to evolve as the spray from the jet freezes.
Bundled up riders wait for a LANTA bus at a stop on Main Street at Thomas Avenue Tuesday. Officials urged anyone working or spending a significant period of time outside to wear protective layers and cover exposed skin.
Surrounded by snow, the coconut palms outside Aloha Jay’s Malasadas on Main Street in Hellertown appeared a bit out of place Tuesday, but also served as a visual reminder of tropical heat during the current cold wave.
Above, traffic moves slowly along Main Street in Hellertown Tuesday afternoon. With local schools closed and high temperatures in the mid teens, few people were out and about unless they had to be for work.
A car’s thermometer displays the outside temperature–17 degrees–on Tuesday afternoon. The mercury has plummeted to near record levels due to a polar vortex, which has brought frigid Arctic air to most of North America.