Cold/Wind Chill — Lehigh, Pennsylvania

2005-01-18 · Lehigh, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

An unseasonably cold air mass that originated in Siberia poured across the Middle Atlantic States on the 18th. The combination of strong northwest winds (winds gusted to around 30 mph during the latter half of the morning) and unseasonably cold air produced wind chill factors that fell between 10 below zero and 20 below zero in the Poconos and between zero and 10 degrees below zero elsewhere during the morning and early afternoon of the 18th. Actual low temperatures during the morning of the 18th were around 10 degrees above zero, except near zero in the Poconos. Two persons died from hypothermia. A 87-year-old Philadelphia man was found dead at the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Teesdale Street in the Tacony Section of the city. In Lehigh County, in Lowhill Township, a 77-year-old man was found dead in his unheated home. In Bucks County, a 57-year-old Middletown Township woman was treated for hypothermia. Many municipalities declared a code blue to help get homeless people off the streets and into shelters. Most shelters were full beyond capacity; in Philadelphia over 100 homeless people were sheltered from the cold. The horse racing card at Philadelphia Park (Bucks County) was cancelled because of the cold. As the core of the arctic air mass moved east, winds diminished toward evening on the 18th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5436619. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.