Major Snowstorm Could Hit Eastern Pa. Next Week

Forecasters are keeping a close eye on computer models that show a big snowstorm could be headed to eastern Pennsylvania around Dec. 19-20

Update 11 a.m. Thursday: WFMZ reports a storm is looking increasingly likely for Tuesday-Wednesday but the big question is whether it will be rain or snow. The National Weather Service predicts a chance of rain/snow on Tuesday night. Original Story: It could be much more than a White Christmas if the Lehigh Valley gets one to two feet of snow next week. The Eastern Pa. Weather Authority says a potentially "monstrous" storm is showing up on a European weather model, according to the following post on the group's Facebook page: Update on next week's storm potential.... this is as monstrous of a storm you can get just about, as modeled on today's 12z European model run. This would be, if correct, a "KU" storm... or one for the history books. …

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Weekend Weather Predictions Call for 2-6 Inches of Snow, Sleet

New report puts accumulation predictions higher than original prediction.

It's time to get the snow boots out, folks.  According to Lehigh Valley Weather Patrol, the Lehigh Valley can expect between 2 and 6 inches of precipitation in the form of snow and sleet over the weekend. The snow is predicted to begin overnight tonight and continue through Saturday.  Weather Underground and Accuweather have similar predictions. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch, in effect until 7pm Saturday.  If a storm develops, it will be the first winter weather of the season, not including the October snowstorm that left the valley blanketed in over 6 inches of snow. Predictions have the snowstorm starting around midnight and continuing through Saturday morning, bringing "All snow north of Quakertown, (with …

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Under the Butternut Tree

Chainsaws and Chippers Still Familiar Sounds

Trees bear the scars of the October snowstorm in Upper Milford Township.

Four weeks have passed since the Oct. 29 snowstorm that dumped about 16 inches of wet snow in Upper Milford Township. On a drive throughout the area recently, I could still see the signs of what those white flakes can do when they stick together and pile up on trees and bushes. The weight of the heavy snow downed and uprooted some large, tall trees, which still lay across properties waiting to be cut into pieces. Branches hung from fruit trees and what were once ornamental trees in residents’ yards. Sawdust and wood pieces were strewn along the grass, giving evidence of a once-fallen limb, or possibly a tree. Volunteers gathered together on a Saturday morning recently to clean up the cemetery at Zion’s Lutheran Church, where large limbs …

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East Penn Parents Will Have Emergency Bus Plan in a Week

Superintendent of schools Thomas L. Seidenberger tells East Penn Board of School Directors that he's been working with First Student to create an alternate route bus plan in the aftermath of the Oct. 29 snowstorm.

Thomas L. Seidenberger is being driven crazy by school busses. Or, more specifically, the challenges he faced in getting busses around the district safely in the wake of the unusual October snowstorm that left many East Penn residents without power for the better part of a week. The East Penn Superintendent of Schools told the school board at last night’s meeting that he has been working closely with the school district’s bus company, First Student, to develop an emergency bus route/bus stop plan that will be mailed to all families in the East Penn School District in about a week. “We are not going to risk sending it electronically,” Seidenberger said, stressing how important it is that everyone in the district has this information at his …

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Storm, Power Outage Cripple Emmaus

Saturday's heavy snowfall leaves Emmaus, Upper Milford in the dark

Residents of Emmaus borough and Upper Milford Township are among the more than 100,000 Lehigh Valley residents stripped of electricity as a result of Saturday's rare October snow storm. Thousands of families endured cold, dark nights Saturday and Sunday. A borough police officer told Patch on Sunday that he did not know of anybody in town with power. PPL reported 6,438 out of power in the borough and 2,889 in the township as of 7 p.m. Sunday, making it one of the hardest hit areas of Lehigh County. PPL says restoring power may take several days. In some areas, major repairs to the system's transmission lines, transformers and circuit breakers are needed. Several traffic lights are not working. Those still functioning are operating on …

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