BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley is under a winter weather advisory, and forecasters say every snowflake that falls will stick easily as the coldest air of the season moves in.
It turns out we could get more than expected.
The advisory is in effect until 4 p.m. Tuesday ,and the National Weather Service is now calling for total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches — an increase from the 2 to 4 inches predicted earlier in the day.
It comes with expected overnight lows bottoming out in the teens, and daytime highs in the 20s much of the week — our coldest air of the season thus far as an arctic blast hits much of the nation.
Snow moves in
Flurries were spotted in Allentown around 3 p.m. Monday ahead of the bulk of the storm.
The remainder of the precipitation should arrive in the Lehigh Valley late Monday, perhaps around 9 p.m., with light but steady snowfall across the area through the Tuesday morning commute and beyond.
Higher totals possible, and a look ahead
“It’s not a major storm,” EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said in his Monday video forecast.
But Martrich believed it could be a bit of an overachiever, with a higher snow ratio than normal.
EPAWA's 1/15 and week ahead outlook, covering:
— Bobby Martrich | EPAWA (@epawawx) January 15, 2024
■ Timing and expectations of snow tonight-Tues
■ Cold temperatures settle in for the week ahead
■ Another wintry system Friday? Looks that way...https://t.co/7uJWMGniYy
“Normally you get 10 inches of snow for every one inch of rain,” Martrich said. “This might be closer to like 12 to 1 or 15 to 1. It’s [going to be] a fluffier, powdery snow that piles up a bit faster.”
The EPAWA first call map also put the Lehigh Valley in the range of 2 to 4 inches, with 5 inches in isolated areas. A final call at 4 p.m. Monday put the area in the 3 to 5 inch range.
The weather service said frontogenesis (or intensification of a front) could mean higher snow totals in our area.
“It should be stressed that some uncertainty remains regarding exact placement of forcing features, and changes would affect snowfall totals,” the NWS forecast discussion said.
Forecasters also have their eye on a wintry system later in the week, but it’s way too early to iron out the details due to the Monday-Tuesday event having an impact on how the next system evolves.
