Winter Weather — Southern Centre, Pennsylvania

2024-12-05 · Southern Centre, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

SNOW SQUALL. An RWIS site on Interstate 99 near Port Matilda reported a 2 to 3 degree drop in surface temperatures along with visibility dropping to one quarter mile within a snow squall. Webcams in the surrounding area also showed accumulating snow on roadways in the squall for a period of 5 to 10 minutes.

Wider weather episode

Snowfall began during the early morning hours of December 5, 2024 across the northern tier with warm air advection within an enhanced low level jet ahead of a cold frontal passage beginning to overspread snowfall across central Pennsylvania. Enhanced frontogenetic forcing and instability in the lower levels allowed for some snow squalls to form across the Laurel Highlands and Middle Susquehanna Valley, with some snow bands continuing into the Lower Susquehanna during the morning commute. Northwesterly flow behind the cold frontal passage allowed for lingering lake effect snow showers across portions of northwestern Pennsylvania, with heavy lake effect snow continuing through December 6th. A snow squall along Interstate 80 in southern Clinton County caused a multi-vehicle accident with 10 tractor trailers and 3 to 4 passenger vehicles, closing the roadway for multiple hours and injuring two motorists.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1221001. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.