BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Another round of winter weather will wedge its way into the region on Wednesday, forecasters say, bringing more accumulating snow and sleet to the Lehigh Valley.
The system, which will move into the area by late afternoon, likely will affect the evening rush, causing slick roadways.
❄️🌧️ Snow has ended across the area. Overcast today with sprinkles or flurries possible at times. An additional round of precip will arrive into the evening, with a light wintry mix expected across E PA & N NJ. Elsewhere, mainly rain expected tonight. #PAwx #NJwx #DEwx #MDwx pic.twitter.com/mnvZNrmzyZ
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) February 12, 2025
Because of the timing, the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory from 4 p.m. until midnight for total snow and sleet accumulations of a coating to 1 inch and ice accumulations around a light glaze.
A more substantial wave of precipitation — potentially with some accumulating snow on the front end — will come this weekend, forecasters say.
The details
The weather service said light scattered precipitation could move in Wednesday afternoon, perhaps between 3 to 4 p.m.
“The residual cold air near the surface may be stubborn, especially north of I-78,” the latest forecast discussion said.
It said thermal profiles look to support some snow initially for areas north and west of Interstate 95 before changing to a wintry mix.
“Some accumulating snow/sleet especially from I-78 northward with a coating to an inch,” the forecast discussion projected, noting the winter weather advisory was issued based on forecast ice accretion behind the snow.
Saturday’s system
“The next system is going to come in here on Saturday, and this is a little more interesting than it looked yesterday,” EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said in his latest video update.
“It really is another two-part system,” he said, describing the potential for an initial wave of precipitation that brings snow to parts of the area before changing over to rain.
“I think the best chance for that is going to be the I-78 corridor in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and points north,” Martrich said.
The entire system is expected to change over to rain, but perhaps not until Saturday evening.
“It could be a couple inches of snow out of this,” Martrich said, describing a flip from snow to rain pretty quickly, with not much mixing in between.
But some models are more enthused with the snowfall, perhaps bringing more than "an inch, or two or three" before the changeover.
Rounds of moderate-to-locally-heavy rainfall are expected to continue overnight and through the day on Sunday, bringing a widespread 1-2 inches to the region.
“Given ongoing drought conditions and lack of significant rains recently, flooding appears unlikely," the weather service said. "However, we will continue to monitor this threat in the coming days.”
