{"id":94234,"date":"2026-01-23T03:02:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T03:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/94234\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T03:02:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T03:02:23","slug":"lehigh-valley-braces-for-up-to-21-inches-of-snow-this-weekend-allentown-declares-snow-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/94234\/","title":{"rendered":"Lehigh Valley braces for up to 21 inches of snow this weekend, Allentown declares Snow Emergency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 The Lehigh Valley could see anywhere from 8 to 21 inches of snow this weekend as forecasters grow increasingly confident that the region is facing its largest snowstorm in years, according to the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n<p>The area will be under a winter storm watch from 1 a.m. Sunday through 1 p.m. Monday, the weather service said Thursday morning. Heavy snow and significant accumulations are likely, with hazardous conditions expected to affect travel, including the Monday morning commute.<\/p>\n<p>Neighboring Berks, Bucks, Carbon and Monroe counties are also included in the watch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xl md:text-2xl font-bold text-white mb-2\">\n            Keep local news free.\n        <\/p>\n<p class=\"text-sm text-gray-300 mb-5\">\n            Reader-supported. No paywalls. No corporate owners.\n        <\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/givebutter.com\/lehighdaily\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"inline-flex items-center justify-center gap-2 px-8 py-4 bg-amber-500 hover:bg-amber-400 text-gray-900 text-lg font-bold rounded-lg transition-colors no-underline hover:no-underline\"><\/p>\n<p>            Support for $5\/mo<br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-sm font-bold text-white truncate\">\n                    Keep local news free.\n                <\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs text-gray-400\">\n                    Reader-supported. No paywalls. No corporate owners.\n                <\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/givebutter.com\/lehighdaily\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"shrink-0 inline-flex items-center gap-2 px-6 py-3 bg-amber-500 hover:bg-amber-400 text-gray-900 font-bold rounded-lg transition-colors no-underline hover:no-underline\"><\/p>\n<p>                Support for $5\/mo<br \/>\n            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>In a Thursday weather briefing, forecasters said confidence continues to rise that a \u201cmajor winter storm\u201d will move into the region late Saturday night and persist through Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to heavy snowfall, blowing and drifting snow could significantly reduce visibility, creating dangerous travel conditions. Widespread travel disruptions are increasingly likely.<\/p>\n<p>The National Weather Service released several forecast models showing a wide range of possible snowfall outcomes. The lowest-end scenario shows about 8 inches of snow in the Allentown area, while the highest-end scenario projects up to 21 inches. Each extreme currently carries a 1-in-10 chance of occurring.<\/p>\n<p>        Get weekly Lehigh Valley news to your inbox<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Confidence continues to increase in a major winter storm impacting the region Saturday night through early Monday afternoon. Major impacts from accumulating snow are likely areawide. (1\/2) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/I93QidoZZa\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/I93QidoZZa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NWS_MountHolly\/status\/2014281447989760242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 22, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Forecasters said there is now a 97% chance of at least 6 inches of snow across the region and a 76% chance of a foot of snow or more. There is also a chance the snow could mix with sleet in some areas, depending on the storm\u2019s track, further worsening road conditions.<\/p>\n<p>The region hasn\u2019t seen a storm of this potential magnitude since February 2021, when a nor\u2019easter dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the Lehigh Valley, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/January_31_%E2%80%93_February_3,_2021_nor%27easter#:~:text=The%20National%20Weather%20Service%20reported,after%20his%20vehicle%20caught%20fire.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">according to weather service data<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Forecasters cautioned that precise snowfall totals will not be known until closer to the weekend, but urged residents to prepare now, given the increasing certainty of a high-impact event.<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Matt Tuerk announced the declaration of Snow Emergency which will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. allowing crews to prepare local roadways for the snow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to make sure that we\u2019re giving our folks ample time to set the stage for a successful cleanup operation,\u201d Tuerk said. \u201cWe will make sure our residents can successfully navigate and clean up from this storm as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allentown police urged community members not to park on any snow emergency routes.<\/p>\n<p>Compounding the storm\u2019s impacts will be a dangerous stretch of bitterly cold weather expected to follow. From Saturday through at least the following Thursday, overnight lows are forecast to remain in the single digits on most days. With wind chills, temperatures could feel below zero, raising concerns about frostbite, hypothermia and prolonged icy conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the storm, Thursday is expected to remain clear with a high near 41 degrees, before temperatures steadily drop heading into the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>The National Weather Service advised residents to closely monitor updated forecasts, finalize travel plans early, and prepare for potentially prolonged disruptions as the region braces for what could be a historic winter storm.<\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/lehighdaily.com\/author\/isabel-hope\/\" class=\"flex-shrink-0 group block leading-none\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/isabel-hope-headshot-150x150.jpeg\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\"  alt=\"Isabel Hope\" class=\"avatar avatar-96 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-96 alignnone photo block rounded-full w-20 h-20 md:w-14 md:h-14 object-cover ring-2 ring-white dark:ring-[#2a2a2a] shadow-lg group-hover:ring-brand transition-all duration-200\"\/>                <\/p>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-sm text-text-secondary dark:text-gray-400 mt-1.5 leading-relaxed\">Isabel Hope is a journalist and website designer based in Bethlehem, PA. She graduated with a degree in journalism from The University of Alabama in 2022, where she served as News Editor of the student newspaper. Isabel has lived in the Lehigh Valley for three years and is passionate about reporting for the communities she now calls home.<\/p>\n<p>                        <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 The Lehigh Valley could see anywhere from 8 to 21 inches of snow this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-94234","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}