Heavy Snow in Northern Lycoming, Pennsylvania

Light snow started in the morning and became heavy at times through the afternoon and evening, with storm total accumulations between 6 and 10 inches.

A complex low pressure system with energy transferring from the Ohio Valley across the Central Appalachians to the Mid-Atlantic coast produced widespread snow accumulations in excess of 6 inches over much of central Pennsylvania. The snow overspread the area from southwest to northeast and became heavy at times during the afternoon and early evening, with snowfall rates between 1 and locally 2 inches per hour. By late in the evening, strong low-level warm advection resulted in above freezing temperatures aloft and caused a changeover from snow to sleet and freezing rain, with significant ice accretions observed in the Lower Susquehanna Valley. The wintry precipitation tapered off to light snow and freezing drizzle around midnight in most locations. The heavy snow topped by a layer of ice sponsored dangerous travel conditions with numerous vehicle accidents involving passenger cars and jackknifed tractor-trailers resulting in several major road closures including portions of I-80, I-81 and US 322. There were two indirect storm-related fatalities, where two people died in a head-on collision on SR 4002 in Blair County.