A powerful coastal storm that was predicted to bring up to a foot-and-a-half of snow to the Lehigh Valley area failed to pack much of a punch, although in many communities to the south and east residents are digging out from that much and more.
Officially, just 5.2 inches of snow was reported at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. Other Lehigh Valley and surrounding area snowfall totals as of Monday morning, per the National Weather Service, included:
Palmer Township: 4.0 inches
Perkasie area: 6.0 inches
Hellertown: 6.1 inches
Tatamy area: 6.3 inches
Coopersburg: 7.0 inches
Salisbury Township: 7.3 inches
Nazareth: 7.8 inches
East Rockhill Township: 8.5 inches
Telford area: 9.2 inches
Green Lane: 11.4 inches
The snow began as light rain Sunday morning and changed over in the afternoon as temperatures slowly began to fall. Snow then began to accumulate–falling at a moderate pace by around sunset–but rather than moving west as forecast, the heaviest snow bands remained over New York, New Jersey and extreme southeastern Pennsylvania. One of the hightest totals in the state was reported in Langhorne, lower Bucks County, where 22.0 inches was measured. About 30 miles to the west in King of Prussia, Montgomery County, only about 8 inches of snow fell, according to reports. Bucks and lower Montgomery counties were both under blizzard warnings issued by the NWS, while the Lehigh Valley was under a winter storm warning.
The storm did prove to be a real blizzard along parts of the Jersey Shore, where over two feet of snow fell in places such as Freehold, Monmouth County, and where many communities were inundated by moderate coastal flooding.
Although it was far from being the storm of the century, the snow was enough to close most schools around the Lehigh Valley. The Saucon Valley, Southern Lehigh and Bethlehem Area school districts were all closed Monday. Quakertown and Palisades schools were virtual due to the wintry weather, and Salisbury Township schools had a flexible instruction day.
Snow emergencies remain in effect in municipalities like Hellertown borough, Coopersburg borough, Lower Saucon Township and Fountain Hill borough. Most major roads appeared to be in good condition by mid-morning Monday, although some side streets remained snow-covered. PennDOT temporarily reduced speed limits on highways in eastern Pennsylvania while imposing vehicle restrictions on others due to the storm, including along I-78 between Rt. 22 and the New Jersey state line.
Eastbound traffic moves slowly along Broadway in Fountain Hill Sunday evening as snow falls. Only about six inches of snow accumulated across most of the Lehigh Valley area; substantially less than the 12 to 18 inches that were forecast Saturday.