Forecasters: Major winter storm could bring up to 21 inches of snow to Lehigh Valley

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Chances are increasing that the Lehigh Valley will experience one of its biggest winter storms in years between late Saturday and early Monday.

The heavy snow will be accompanied by bitter cold and could cause major disruptions to travel, schools and businesses, officials said.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch in effect from late Saturday night through Monday afternoon warning of “significant snow accumulations.”

The aftermath will include a stretch of below-normal temperatures likely to continue through all of next week, forecasters say.

The storm

Snow totals reaching double digits are not just plausible, but extremely likely, experts said.

In a briefing package released early Thursday, the weather service put the low-end amount expected in the Lehigh Valley around 8 inches.

A “reasonable worst case” (or 1-in-10 chance) would see the area receive as much as 21 inches of snow.

It is likely to be the largest storm for the Allentown area since 22.4 inches of snow fell on Feb 1, 2021, at Lehigh Valley International Airport; other parts of the region saw more than 30 inches.

The powerful storm will arrive after Arctic air sweeps from the Plains to the Mid-Atlantic, once again sending temperatures into the teens on Saturday.

As the storm barrels northeastward toward the cold air, it’s expected to drop moderate to heavy snow, while farther south, ice is expected to spread from Texas to Georgia and into the Carolinas.

Likely arrival time in the Lehigh Valley will be after midnight, in the very early hours of Sunday morning, meteorologist Bobby Martrich of EPAWA Weather Consulting said.

Martrich said the storm might fight dry air at the start, but “once we get to Sunday morning, the intensity is going to pick up.”

He said the key to the storm will be high pressure locking in the cold air.

“If this weakens too fast or pulls out [to the north and east] too fast, you’re going to have warm air advection a little bit further north.”

That would mean some areas could see snow mix with or change to sleet.

“We don’t know where that’s going to be just yet,” Martrich said in his latest video update.

“If you remain all snow out of this event, you’re probably getting 12 to 18 inches of snow,” he said.

Officials: Prepare now

Sunday’s storm and expected snow totals are not the only concern.

Colder temperatures cause significantly higher electricity usage, and officials say they stand ready to respond if outages occur.

The region’s transmission organization, PJM Interconnection, shared that its forecast peak electric usage for Wednesday was 135,004 MW at 7 a.m., with a total scheduled capacity of 165,050 MW.

The Allentown area hit -9 degrees early Wednesday, its coldest low temperature in exactly 32 years, when it was -15 on Jan. 21, 1994.

PPL Electric is urging its customers to be prepared for any outages — especially during colder temperatures — by putting together emergency kits with non-perishable food, water, medication, first aid and pet supplies.

Kits should include batteries and battery-operated flashlights, and customers are urged to charge phones and other devices prior to the storm.

PennDOT goes green

To increase the visibility of its trucks and plows this winter, the state Department of Transportation will use amber and green warning lights while operating on state roadways.

“When you see our lights, please slow down and increase following distance,” it said on social media, with messaging urging drivers to slow down, put phones away and avoid all distractions.