BETHLEHEM, Pa. — An updated forecast from the National Weather Service has parts of the Lehigh Valley getting 2 to 4 inches of snow from a winter storm Monday night.
The weather service issued a winter weather advisory starting at 7 p.m. and lasting through 7 a.m. Tuesday for Northampton, Carbon and Monroe counties.
The snow is expected to end before Tuesday morning's commute.
- The National Weather Service said accumulating snow is possible Monday night
- It's part of a quick-hitting system that could bring 2 to 4 inches of snow in parts of the Lehigh Valley
- More snow is expected in the Poconos
Forecasters early Monday called for a “rather challenging snowfall forecast across the region,” but the weather service said confidence continues to increase that we’ll see accumulating snow from the southern Poconos to the Lehigh Valley.
“The big question remains though — how much and where do heavier amounts fall?” the latest forecast discussion said Monday morning.
Several models keep higher snowfall totals more to the west of the southern Poconos across northern central Pennsylvania. But others bring the snow farther south, which would bring higher totals to the Lehigh Valley.
“Another concern is that some high-res guidance indicate that mesoscale banding may result in a narrow band of near-warning level snow across the aforementioned region,” the discussion said.
“The observed amounts will be highly dependent on where that banding sets up, so totals will likely vary greatly over short distances,” the weather service warns.
“The observed amounts will be highly dependent on where that banding sets up, so totals will likely vary greatly over short distances."National Weather Service
Across the Pocono Plateau, more localized amounts of near 6 inches are possible.
The quick hit of snow comes at the end of a winter that has mostly been a bust, from Massachusetts all the way down through part of West Virginia.
David Robinson, a Rutgers University geography professor and the New Jersey state climatologist, recently told the Associated Press conditions have been driven in part by human-induced climate change and the northeast is among the fastest warming regions in the country.
Other factors came into play this winter, including the jet stream keeping colder air closer to the Canadian border rather than dropping it down into the northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Philadelphia has gotten only 0.3 inches of snow this winter compared to an average of 19.2, while Allentown has received just 5.1 inches of snow since December.
