Ice Storm — Eastern Chester, Pennsylvania

2022-02-24 to 2022-02-25 · Eastern Chester, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

Freezing rain fell. A trained spotter near Phoenixville reported 0.13 inches of ice accretion. Higher amounts likely occurred, as a number of downed tree and power outage reports were received from the area.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure tracked through western Pennsylvania on the night on February 24 into the morning of February 25. A weak secondary area of low pressure developed off the New Jersey coast on the 25th. This complex system brought a period of precipitation to the mid-Atlantic. With the main low tracking west of the region, warmer air rushed in aloft, limiting the potential for snow to fall. However, a strong Canadian high pressure to the north, combined with the developing secondary low, caused cold air to be trapped near the surface. This caused precipitation to fall as a wintry mix across the region, including as several hours of sleet and freezing rain. In some cases, the ice accretion was enough to cause tree and power line damage. The system pulled away from the region by the afternoon of the 25th with warmer and drier weather following behind it.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1000844. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.