Winter Storm — Northampton, Pennsylvania

2014-02-12 to 2014-02-14 · Northampton, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

A major winter storm affected all of Eastern Pennsylvania with heavy snow and sleet and even some freezing rain. The heaviest snow of the season occurred during this storm as 12 to 20 inches of snow fell across most of Eastern Pennsylvania. Ice accumulations were generally less than one tenth of an inch. The heavy snow also caused structural failures even after it ended and was a contributing factor to a major multi-vehicule accident in the Philadelphia suburbs on the morning of the 14th. During this event, 14 counties and 154 municipalities have declared Disaster Declaration Emergencies. A state of emergency remained in effect for Pennsylvania.

Snow began in Eastern Pennsylvania and spread from the south to the north between 9 p.m. EST and Midnight EST on the 12th. Two bands of heavy snow, in which snowfall rates averaged two to four inches per hour, moved through the state on the 13th. The first one mainly affected the local Philadelphia area between 5 a.m. EST and 7 a.m. EST. The second one moved north through the entire eastern half of Pennsylvania between 730 a.m. EST and 2 p.m. EST on the 13th. After the snow bands moved through, precipitation changed to freezing rain and then rain in the immediate Philadelphia area during the late morning of the 13th, the Lehigh Valley, Berks County and the northwest Philadelphia suburbs around midday on the 13th and during the afternoon of the 13th in the Poconos. Some pockets of freezing rain and sleet persisted in the higher terrain of the Poconos. Scattered thunderstorms moved through during the late afternoon and early evening on the 13th, some with small hail. Then as the low pressure system pulled offshore, precipitation changed back to snow during the evening on the 13th. Some heavy snow occurred again in the Philadelphia western suburbs, the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos. The last of the snow exited eastern Pennsylvania from west to east between Midnight EST and 4 a.m. EST on the 14th. The snow exited lower Bucks County last.

Schools, malls, businesses, government, state and local offices as well as municipal courts never opened on the 13th. Many schools were also closed on the 14th. There was a trailer ban on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and reduced speeds on all major roadways including the Delaware River crossings. Commuter bus service from the Lehigh Valley to New York City was cancelled. SEPTA Regional Commuter Services detoured bus and trolley routes in and around Philadelphia and suspended bus service for a while during the day on the 13th. Regional Rail lines ran with 60 minute delays. SEPTA then halted all rail and bus service overnight. Over 400 flights were cancelled at the Philadelphia International Airport and all flights were cancelled at the Lehigh Valley International Airport. Because the heavy snow started early in the morning, the number of accidents and calls for assistance in the Philadelphia area was less than usual. In the Lehigh Valley, there were more disabled vehicles on side roads because of the later arrival of the heavy snow bands. There were also slip and fall accidents and at least one person who lost fingers clearing a snow thrower. The snow did not cling to tree limbs as well and there were only about 6,000 homes and businesses that lost power. The greatest numbers were in Bucks and Montgomery Counties. One of the hardest hit businesses were florists as the heavy snow wreaked havoc (tens of thousands delayed) on the flower deliveries for Valentine's Day. After the snow ended, on the morning of the 14th, 30 people were injured and about 100 vehicles were damaged in a chain reaction multi-vehicle (including several tractor-trailers) accident on the Eastbound Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bucks County. The combination of an icy roadway, sun glare and excessive speed helped cause the accident. The Turnpike was closed for about 8 hours. The latest event strained municipal budgets further and increased the shortage of salt supplies in the region.

The weight of the heavy snow started causing structural collapses. In Lehigh County, a pavilion collapsed at a Nissan dealership in South Heidelberg Township. Forty-one vehicles were damaged. In Montgomery County, an abandoned building collapsed on Washington Lane in Jenkintown Borough. A barn collapsed on Kulp Road in Towamencin Township. Several animals were killed or injured. In Berks County, another barn collapsed on Bieber Lane in Amity Township. Two horses were trapped in the barn but were rescued by responding fire departments. The barn sustained significant damage to the first floor due to the complete second story collapse. An emergency responder cut the tip of his finger during the rescue operations. Also in Amity Township, another barn collapsed on Weavertown Road. In Monroe County, a barn collapsed in Barrett Township. Several horses were trapped but rescued.

Representative snowfall included 20.2 inches in West Caln Township (Chester County), 19.2 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, 18.5 inches in Huffs Church (Berks County), 17.5 inches in Forks Township (Northampton County), 17.4 inches in Saylorsburg (Monroe County), 17.0 inches in Perkasie (Bucks County), 16.0 inches in Blakeslee (Monroe County) and Coaldale (Carbon County), 15.5 inches in Doylestown (Bucks County), 15.2 inches in Slatington (Lehigh County), 15.0 inches in Concord Township (Delaware County), West Chester (Chester County) and Fleetwood (Berks County), 14.5 inches in Gilbertsville (Montgomery County) and Glenmoore (Chester County), 14.0 inches in Kidder Township (Carbon County), 12.8 inches in Martins Creek (Northampton County), 12.5 inches in Lansdowne (Delaware County) and Royersford (Montgomery County), 12.3 inches in Wynnewood (Montgomery County), 12.2 inches in Wayne (Delaware County), 12.0 inches in Wernersville (Berks County), 11.9 inches in Nottingham (Chester County), 11.5 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport at 10.0 inches in Langhorne (Bucks County).

The winter storm was caused by a low pressure system that formed in the western Gulf of Mexico on the 11th and moved east on the 12th. This was preceded by an arctic high pressure system that passed over the Middle Atlantic States that same day and left plenty of initial cold, dry air in place. A new low pressure system formed east of Florida on the 12th and would become the primary low pressure system for the event. It moved northeast and was near Wilmington, North Carolina at 7 p.m. EST on the 12th. From there, it continued northnortheast and passed near Elizabeth City, North Carolina at 7 a.m. EST on the 13th. Once it reached the Atlantic Ocean again, it started to intensify rapidly and reached the Delmarva coastal waters early in the afternoon on the 13th. At 7 p.m. EST on the 13th, the low pressure system was off the New Jersey coast and deepened to 986 millibars (11 millibar drop in 12 hours). From there the low pressure system moved northeast and intensified even more rapidly as it passed just east of Long Island, New York and passed near Boston, Massachusetts as a 976 millibar low pressure system at 4 a.m. EST on the 14th. This low pressure system deepened to 968 millibars at 10 a.m. EST on the 14th while over Maine before finally leveling off. The close pass to the New Jersey coast permitted this low pressure system to bring in above freezing (milder) air into Eastern Pennsylvania, if not at the surface, at least aloft and caused a period of non-snow to occur before ending as snow again as the low pressure system departed.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 502788. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.