Ice Storm — Cambria, Pennsylvania

2025-12-26 to 2025-12-27 · Cambria, Pennsylvania

Event narrative

A longer duration period of freezing rain began across Cambria County, with lower elevations experiencing freezing as early as the mid-morning hours of December 26th and continuing through the late morning hours of December 27, 2025. Higher elevations of Cambria County experienced a brief snow/freezing rain mix at onset with a transition over to freezing rain by the early afternoon hours of December 26th and continuing into the mid-morning hours of December 27th as precipitation began to taper off west-to-east across the county. John Murtha Johnstown Cambria County Airport recorded 0.40 inches of freezing rain accumulation with higher elevation locations of Cambria County reporting around a quarter of an inch of ice accumulations.

Wider weather episode

An area of low pressure and shortwave trough stationed across the Midwest in the early morning hours of December 26, 2025 along with surface high pressure east of the region allowed for relatively cold surface temperatures with an elevated pocket of warm air across central Pennsylvania. As the trough moved further east into the region, freezing rain began across the Laurel Highlands, with a snow/sleet mix stationed further southeast where warmer air aloft was not as prevalent. The highest ice accumulations were reported in Cambria County, where 0.40 of ice accumulation was measured in Johnstown. Multiple accidents were reported across the Clearfield, Columbia, Clinton, and Cumberland counties with a total of four patients being transported due to injuries.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1300431. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.