BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley remains devoid of accumulating snow events so far in December —and it looks like that pattern will continue straight through the holiday season.
A "trace" of snow has now been recorded on four occasions so far this month at Lehigh Valley International Airport, home to the official weather station for the National Weather Service.
That includes Monday morning, which marked the tail end of an impactful storm that dumped record-setting rain on the area Sunday.
According to the weather service, 1.59 inches of rain fell Sunday, besting the record of 1.40 inches for the date set in 1969.
Overall, 2.04 inches of rain fell at the airport for the duration of the storm — followed by a trace of snow. Schnecksville and Bethlehem recorded 2.06 inches of rain, and Emmaus had 2.04 inches.
In Northampton County, Portland had one of the highest rainfall totals at 2.63 inches.
No chance of a White Christmas
While the airport had just a dusting of snow Monday, a few spots in Lehigh, Northampton and Monroe counties all got measurable accumulation.
Salisbury Township had 2 inches and Bangor had a half-inch of snow.
Monroe County was the jackpot area for snow, with 4.8 inches recorded in Mount Pocono, while Pocono Pines saw 3.7 inches. Pocono Summit also had 3 inches of snow and Canadensis had an inch.
It might be the last significant snowfall for the region this year.
Experts say a strong Pacific jet is flooding North America with mild air, meaning much of the area may have to wait until January for its first inch of snow.
Official outlooks from the government’s Climate Prediction Center show above-average temperatures persisting through at least Dec. 24.
The Lehigh Valley has a 40 to 50% chance of above average temperatures through the period.
