Winter Storm — Carbon, Pennsylvania

2005-01-05 to 2005-01-06 · Carbon, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

One of the worst ice storms in history to affect the Poconos occurred on January 5th and 6th. As nasty as that storm was, it was exacerbated by another ice storm on January 8th. At one point, nearly three-quarters of Carbon County was without power and nearly 46,000 homes and businesses in Monroe County lost power. Systemwide 238,000 Pennsylvania Power and Light customers lost power and the total repair cost was estimated at $25,000,000. Metropolitan Edison reported about 40,000 of its customers lost power. Thousands upon thousands of trees were knocked down or damaged. The number of outages cascaded. There were only 1,000 the morning of the 6th, but that increased to 27,000 the afternoon of the 6th and 91,000 the evening of the 6th. There was only one direct injury from the storm, but a couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning trying to heat their powerless home. It took until January 16th for power to be completely restored. Hardest hit locations was in the Pocono Plateau region in Carbon and Monroe Counties. States of emergencies were declared in both Carbon and Monroe Counties. Numerous roads were closed because of ice and downed trees. Firefighters had to clear roads to respond to emergencies. Unnecessary driving was not recommended. Many shelters were opened. The Red Cross served over 6,000 meals. Many hotels that had electricity were booked solid. Bottled water was distributed. While downed trees also caused power outages in the Lehigh Valley, it did not match the damage in the Poconos. Ironically precipitation started as plain rain before dawn on the 5th. It changed to freezing rain over the higher terrain of the Poconos during the first part of the morning and then changed to snow later that morning. Precipitation changed back to freezing rain around Midnight EST on the 6th in the Lehigh Valley and a bit after Midnight EST in the Poconos. Freezing rain also occurred in northern parts of Berks and Bucks Counties between Midnight EST and 7 a.m. EST on the 6th before precipitation changed back to plain rain. The change to plain rain worked its way north into the Lehigh Valley during the morning of the 6th, but precipitation remained freezing rain throughout most of the Poconos. Ice accretions in the Lehigh Valley averaged between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch and between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch in the Poconos. Snowfall accumulations in the Poconos were between one and three inches. In Monroe County, a 57-year-old man and his 73-year-old companion died of carbon monoxide poisoning. They were running an gas-powered electrical generator in a garage beneath the home as well as two kerosene heaters. The fumes from the generator were not properly ventilated. Their pet cat also died. Dozens of others were taken to Pocono Medical Center with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. The only known injury was a 47-year-old PennDOT worker who was injured when a tree fell onto his truck and he injured his shoulder. At least seventy trees fell on top of vehicles and homes. Emergency services in Monroe County responded to 1,300 calls on the 7th, the normal response number for an entire weekend. Schools were closed from the 5th through the 10th. All reopened on the 11th, except for the Pocono Mountain School District which did not re-open until the 12th. Many crashes occurred on Interstate 80. Too many roads were closed to keep track. Six major roads were still closed on the 7th. The Pocono Plateau was described as a war zone from Mount Pocono to Tobyhanna to Blakeslee. Fields were filled with downed trees and power lines. Even months later, the drive along Interstate 80 looks as though a large tornado sheared the tops from thousands of trees. The restoration efforts were thwarted by temperatures that did not get to the mid 30s in the Pocono Plateau until the 10th. About 32,000 homes and businesses still had no power on the 7th just as the next ice storm was starting. In Carbon County, the worst tree damage occurred in Penn Forest and Kidder Townships. That was followed by damage in Mahoning and Towamensing Townships. The Penn Forest Fire Company set a daily record for emergency responses. Entire boroughs and townships lost power. Telephone service was also lost in Penn Forest and Kidder Townships. U.S. Routes 309 and 209 as well as Pennsylvania State Routes 54, 93 and 902 were all closed. It took until the 10th to have all of the major roads opened. Nine shelters were opened in fire stations, community centers and churches. schools were closed from the 5th through the 9th. Ironically, the impossible traveling conditions resulted in no reported traffic accidents in Kidder Township. Power was finally restored on the 16th to the hardest hit Indian Mountain Lakes, Towamensing Trails and Mount Pocohontas Developments in Penn Forest Township. In the Lehigh Valley, the worst conditions occurred at the northern end of the valley. In Lehigh County, all power was out in New Tripoli and the northern end of Washington Township. In Northampton County, Metropolitan Edison reported about 2,000 of its customers lost power. A state of emergency was declared in Upper Mount Bethel due to extensive power outages. Shelters were opened (three shelters were opened countywide). Downed trees and power outages were also reported in Bangor Borough, Plainfield Township, Bushkill Township, Wind Gap Borough, Pen Argyl Borough and Mount Bethel Township. Power outages were reported as far south as Nazareth. Snowfall accumulations included 3.0 inches in Pocono Summit (Monroe County) and 2.2 inches at the F.E. Walter Dam (Carbon County). Ice accretions included 0.75 of an inch in Tobyhanna (Monroe County), 0.5 of an inch in Albrightsville (Carbon County) and Heidelberg Township (Lehigh County) and 0.33 of an inch in Lehighton (Carbon County). The set was stage for the ice storm when a cold front moved through the region on the 4th. This allowed a cold air mass in the low levels to establish itself in the region. As a low pressure system moved east from the the Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley, it pushed warmer air aloft above this cold air mass. At the same time, a high pressure system slid across nearby Canada and kept a fresh supply of cold air near the surface. The low pressure system (which moved to Pittsburgh on the morning of the 6th) redeveloped along the Delmarva Peninsula later that day as the cold air remained wedged in place. Precipitation aloft fell as rain, but the high pressure system in nearby Canada kept that fresh supply of cold air that had the rain fall as freezing rain throughout the heart of the event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5434878. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.