HOUR-BY-HOUR: When to expect heavy snowfall, hazardous conditions during Pennsylvania storm
STORM. REPORTING LIVE FROM WASHINGTON. I’M AMY LU WGAL NEWS EIGHT. AMY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. OF COURSE, BEFORE THE SNOW, WE GOT TO DEAL WITH THIS ARCTIC BLAST. LET’S GO TO METEOROLOGIST ETHAN HUSTON FOR A CHECK ON JUST HOW COLD THOSE TEMPERATURES ARE GOING TO BE. YEAH, LAUREN, DOES MEAN THAT ARCTIC AIR IS MOVING ON IN AND IT’S REALLY GOING TO PACK A PUNCH BEFORE THE SNOW GETS HERE. DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILLS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE NIGHT. TONIGHT WE’RE TALKING AS COLD AS 15 BELOW WITH THAT BITTER BREEZE THAT WILL LIKELY BE OUT THERE. NOW, TOMORROW WE’RE STAYING DRY. BUT AN ALERT DAY IS IN THE FORECAST FOR SUNDAY. THAT’S THE MAJOR WINTER STORM LIKELY TO IMPACT THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. LIKELY OUR BIGGEST SNOWSTORM IN ROUGHLY FIVE YEARS. AND SOME AREAS OF THE VALLEY COULD GET A FOOT, IF NOT MORE OF SNOW ONCE ALL IS SAID AND DONE. BUT AS THE STORM IS WRAPPING UP EARLY ON MONDAY, BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF THE SNOW THAT WE SEE COMING DOWN IS GOING TO BE LIGHT AND FLUFFY AND THE WINDS PICK UP, WE COULD SEE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW THROUGH MONDAY MORNING AND MONDAY AFTERNOON, KEEPING IMPACTS QUITE HIGH FOR TRAVELING. BUT THAT PROLONGED ARCTIC CHILL WILL REMAIN THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. SO THIS IS WHY WE DO HAVE THE COLD WEATHER ADVISORY GOES INTO EFFECT AT 6:00 OUTSIDE. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE THE SEASONAL CHILL. WE’RE AT 35 DEGREES, BUT NOTICE THE WINDS SUSTAINED AT 16MPH. SO THAT COLD ARCTIC AIR IS JUST ON OUR DOORSTEP. 38 RIGHT NOW IN YORK, 3834 IN LEBANON, BUT DOWN TO 23 IN LEWISTOWN. HERE’S A LOOK AT THE FEELS LIKE TEMPERATURES. FEELS LIKE IT’S 25 IN HARRISBURG. FEELS LIKE IT’S 24 IN LANCASTER. BUT LEWISTOWN, YOU’RE NOW DOWN TO EIGHT DEGREES, BUT IT NOW FEELS LIKE IT’S BELOW ZERO OUT TOWARDS PITTSBURGH, DUBOIS UP TOWARDS ERIE AND BRADFORD. THAT’S THE ARCTIC AIR THAT’S GOING TO BE MOVING IN DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. SO WE’LL SEE THE CLOUDS DECREASE. IT WILL HAVE A STRONG BREEZE OUT THERE AFTER SUNSET. FEELS LIKE TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY BE IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. THE WORST OF THIS CHILL THAT’S COMING OVERNIGHT LOWS DOWN TO JUST TWO ABOVE TO TEN DEGREES. BUT YEAH, THOSE WINDCHILLS ANYWHERE FROM FIVE BELOW TO 15 BELOW AS WE’LL STILL HAVE A LIGHT BREEZE OUT THERE. WE’LL HAVE THOSE SUBZERO CHILLS IN THE MORNING. DURING THE AFTERNOON IT IS GOING TO BE QUIET BUT STILL COLD WITH HIGHS ONLY IN THE TEENS. IT’S WELL AFTER DARK. AFTER MIDNIGHT THE SNOW STARTS TO MOVE ON IN AND AS WE HEAD ON INTO SUNDAY, WE’RE TALKING WIDESPREAD SNOW. THAT COULD BE HEAVY AT TIMES. IF YOU’RE WATCHING US SOUTH OF US 30, ESPECIALLY IN YORK COUNTY AND LANCASTER COUNTY, YOU COULD SEE SOME SLEET MIXING IN, BUT IT’S STILL GOING TO BE IMPACTFUL. HEAVY SNOW IS ON THE TABLE FOR EVERYBODY, SO THE SNOW WILL REALLY BE COMING DOWN HEAVY SUNDAY MORNING. SUNDAY AFTERNOON IT SLOWLY DECREASES IN INTENSITY AS WE GO THROUGH THE NIGHT. TONIGHT, MOST OF US WILL BE DEALING WITH SOME SNOW IN THE MORNING, AND THEN AS WE HEAD ON INTO THE AFTERNOON, IT’S SNOW WITH SOME SLEET FOR SOME AREAS, MOST LIKELY AGAIN SOUTH OF 30 AND THEN OVERNIGHT. THIS ALL WRAPS UP AS SOME LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS. SO WHAT ABOUT TRAVELING CONDITIONS? ONCE THE SNOW MOVES ON IN ROADS WILL QUICKLY BECOME SNOW COVERED. I DO NOT RECOMMEND TRAVEL THROUGH THE DAY ALL DAY ON SUNDAY JUST BECAUSE OF THE INTENSE, HEAVY SNOW. COULD BE REACHING 1 TO 2IN PER HOUR AND THEN BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL BECOME A PROBLEM THROUGH THE DAY. MONDAY. NOW, BECAUSE OF EVERYTHING WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, WE HAVE A WINTER STORM WARNING BECAUSE OF THE INTENSE, HEAVY SNOW AND THE HIGH HAZARDS THAT WILL COME WITH IT. HERE’S A LOOK AT THE SYSTEM. NOW YOU CAN SEE SNOW ON THE NORTH SIDE, RAIN ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND IN THE MIDDLE. THAT WINTRY MIX STARTING TO SEE THE SURFACE LOW FORM OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION. IT’S GOING TO WORK ITS WAY ACROSS TEXAS, ACROSS THE DEEP SOUTH, AND THEN START TO TURN OUR WAY AND WILL BE ON OUR DOORSTEP VERY LATE SATURDAY NIGHT. SO WE’LL START THE CLOCK HERE AT 10 P.M. ON SATURDAY. LIKELY STILL DRY. IT’S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WE START TO SEE THE SNOW MOVING IN FROM SOUTH TO NORTH, AND IT SHOULD BE WIDESPREAD BY THE TIME WE GET TO ABOUT 4 A.M. THEN IT PICKS UP IN INTENSITY AGAIN. REALLY INTENSE. 1 TO 2IN PER HOUR. ONCE YOU GET TO THAT LEVEL OR THAT RATE OF SNOWFALL. EVEN THE BIGGEST PLOWS WITH THE BIGGEST BLADES ON THEM CAN’T KEEP UP WITH THAT AMOUNT OF SNOW. SO TRAVEL COULD BE TREACHEROUS, TREACHEROUS ACROSS THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THEN, AS WE HEAD INTO SUNDAY EVENING, THERE’S THAT PINK. THAT’S SLEET THAT WILL POSSIBLY WORK IN WITH THE SNOW FOR AREAS SOUTH OF 30 THAT WILL CONTINUE ON INTO SUNDAY EVENING, AND THEN THE SNOW WILL BECOME LESS INTENSE, BUT MORE LIKELY AS IT WRAPS UP LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. FINALLY, THE STEADY SNOW LIFTS OFF TO THE NORTH EARLY ON MONDAY, BUT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL BE OUT THERE. SO HOW MUCH SNOW ACROSS THE VALLEY AGAIN? 12 TO 18IN FOR THE MAJORITY VALLEY. YOU CAN SEE THIS WHITE DASHED LINE. THAT’S WHERE WE’RE WATCHING OUT FOR THE NORTHERN EXTENT OF THAT SLEET. SO THIS 8 TO 12 INCH LINE AND 12 TO 18 LINE, WE COULD SEE SOME WIGGLE ROOM AT HOW FAR THIS COMES UP. NOW, THAT BEING SAID, IF YOU’RE IN THE 8 TO 12 INCH RANGE, YOU CAN GET THAT MUCH SNOW AND THEN A COUPLE OF INCHES OF SLEET ON TOP OF IT, CREATING A CRUST AND MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO PLOW THE SNOW. SO EVEN IF YOU GET SOME SLEET AND LIKELY SOME LOWER SNOWFALL TOTALS, IT’S STILL GOING TO BE A BEAR TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. IT HAS BEEN QUITE SOME TIME SINCE WE’VE SEEN THIS AMOUNT OF SNOW IN THE FORECAST. THE LAST TIME WE HAD A FOOTER FOR THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY WAS THE STORM THAT STARTED ON THE 31ST OF JANUARY AND ENDED THE FIRST OF 2021 18IN. LOOKS LIKE THE HIGHEST TOTAL FOR SOME ISOLATED SPOTS AND NOT FAR AWAY FROM HISTORIC. THIS DOES NOT LOOK LIKELY. I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE BIGGEST SNOWSTORMS OF ALL TIME. THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE AT LEAST THIS STORM SERIOUSLY. BECAUSE ONCE YOU GET ABOVE 20IN, YOU’RE TALKING A HISTORIC STORM. WE’RE BELOW THAT. BUT AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU REALLY NEED TO TAKE SERIOUSLY AND WHY WE’RE CALLING IT AN ALERT DAY NOW AS WE GO ON INTO MONDAY, TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY, THE WINDS WILL PICK UP. BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL BE A CONCERN ON MONDAY, BUT I DO EXPECT PROLONGED ARCTIC AIR TO REMAIN IN PLACE WITH THAT SUBZERO CHILL LINGERING THROUGH THE MORNINGS AS WE GO THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. AND THAT’S WHY WE HAVE A SERIES OF IMPACT DAYS, AND YOU CAN SEE JUST HOW BRUTALLY COLD IT IS WITH TEMPERATURES DOWN TO THE SINGLE DIGITS FEELI
HOUR-BY-HOUR: When to expect heavy snowfall, hazardous conditions during Pennsylvania storm
Updated: 7:07 PM EST Jan 23, 2026
The WGAL News 8 Storm Team is tracking a big snowstorm headed for south-central Pennsylvania this weekend, projecting 12 to 18 inches of snow. A Winter Storm Warning was issued by the National Weather Service from 10 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Monday for the entire Susquehanna Valley, warning residents of the dangerous conditions. UPDATE | Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed a proclamation of disaster emergency ahead of the storm.Hour-by-hour projectionsSaturday night/early Sunday morning: Snow begins to develop around midnight. By sunrise Sunday: It will be steadily snowing. Sunday afternoon: Periods of heavy snow, with rates of one to two inches per hour possible.Late Sunday afternoon/evening: Warmer air and low pressure will move off the Delmarva coast. This could change snow to sleet for the southeastern counties.Sunday night into Monday morning: Snow and sleet will begin to taper to scattered snow showers from Sunday night into Monday morning. Monday morning: Snow tapers off before sunrise. Winds increase, causing blowing and drifting snow. WGAL’s Meteorologist Ethan Huston said the News 8 Storm Team is closely tracking the chance of sleet that could decrease snow totals for southeastern counties. “As we head into Sunday evening, sleet will possibly work in with this snow for areas south of Rt. 30. That will continue on into Sunday evening and then the snow will become less intense,” said Ethan Huston. TotalsMost of the Susquehanna Valley: 12 to 18 inches expected. Southern York and Lancaster counties: 8 to 12 inches, depending on the chance of sleet mixing in on Sunday evening. Snowfall intensityMorning: HeavyAfternoon: HeavyEvening: ModerateOvernight: LightImpact and Alert Days: What to knowFriday (Impact Night): Begins at 6 p.m. as wind chills fall below zero.Saturday (Impact Day): Sub-zero wind chills in the morning, with single-digit wind chills in the afternoon.Sunday (Alert Day): Potential for significant snowfall all day, projecting 12-18 inches in most areas. Monday (Alert Day): Blowing and drifting snow, dangerous wind chills, and hazardous travel. Impacts following the storm Stronger winds and lingering Arctic air will bring dangerous, bitter cold.Blowing and drifting snow could make travel hazardous, especially on Monday.Expect snow-covered, slick roads—particularly on untreated surfaces.Gusty winds may cause scattered power outages.SOUTH-CENTRAL PA WEATHER RESOURCES: INTERACTIVE RADAR | ACTIVE WEATHER ALERTS | CURRENT CONDITIONS | HOURLY FORECAST | 10-DAY FORECAST | WEEKEND FORECAST | MAP ROOM | DOWNLOAD THE APP | WEATHER EMAILS
The WGAL News 8 Storm Team is tracking a big snowstorm headed for south-central Pennsylvania this weekend, projecting 12 to 18 inches of snow.
A Winter Storm Warning was issued by the National Weather Service from 10 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Monday for the entire Susquehanna Valley, warning residents of the dangerous conditions.
UPDATE | Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed a proclamation of disaster emergency ahead of the storm.
Hour-by-hour projectionsSaturday night/early Sunday morning: Snow begins to develop around midnight. By sunrise Sunday: It will be steadily snowing. Sunday afternoon: Periods of heavy snow, with rates of one to two inches per hour possible.Late Sunday afternoon/evening: Warmer air and low pressure will move off the Delmarva coast. This could change snow to sleet for the southeastern counties.Sunday night into Monday morning: Snow and sleet will begin to taper to scattered snow showers from Sunday night into Monday morning. Monday morning: Snow tapers off before sunrise. Winds increase, causing blowing and drifting snow.
WGAL’s Meteorologist Ethan Huston said the News 8 Storm Team is closely tracking the chance of sleet that could decrease snow totals for southeastern counties.
“As we head into Sunday evening, sleet will possibly work in with this snow for areas south of Rt. 30. That will continue on into Sunday evening and then the snow will become less intense,” said Ethan Huston.
TotalsMost of the Susquehanna Valley: 12 to 18 inches expected. Southern York and Lancaster counties: 8 to 12 inches, depending on the chance of sleet mixing in on Sunday evening.
Snowfall intensityMorning: HeavyAfternoon: HeavyEvening: ModerateOvernight: Light
Impact and Alert Days: What to knowFriday (Impact Night): Begins at 6 p.m. as wind chills fall below zero.Saturday (Impact Day): Sub-zero wind chills in the morning, with single-digit wind chills in the afternoon.Sunday (Alert Day): Potential for significant snowfall all day, projecting 12-18 inches in most areas. Monday (Alert Day): Blowing and drifting snow, dangerous wind chills, and hazardous travel. Impacts following the storm Stronger winds and lingering Arctic air will bring dangerous, bitter cold.Blowing and drifting snow could make travel hazardous, especially on Monday.Expect snow-covered, slick roads—particularly on untreated surfaces.Gusty winds may cause scattered power outages.
SOUTH-CENTRAL PA WEATHER RESOURCES: INTERACTIVE RADAR | ACTIVE WEATHER ALERTS | CURRENT CONDITIONS | HOURLY FORECAST | 10-DAY FORECAST | WEEKEND FORECAST | MAP ROOM | DOWNLOAD THE APP | WEATHER EMAILS