Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 5 to 6, 1996

A low pressure system developed over South Carolina the afternoon of the 5th. As it quickly intensified and moved northeast (It passed just east of the New Jersey coast the morning of the 6th.), the precipitation associated with it changed from rain to snow across the higher terrain of the Poconos the evening of the 5th and over the higher terrain of northeast Berks County during the early morning of the 6th. As the storm intensified during the early morning hours of the 6th, so did the precipitation. The heaviest snow fell between about 2 a.m. and 8 a.m EST. The snow also was very elevation dependent. While heavy snow fell over the higher terrain, mainly just rain fell in Reading. A mixture of rain and snow fell in Stroudsburg where less than one inch of snow accumulated.Snowfall accumulations in Monroe County reached 19 inches in Tobyhanna and 15 inches in Mount Pocono. The Mount Pocono borough had to declare a state of emergency after the heavy snow and jacknifed tractor trailers forced the closures of Interstates 80 and 380. Traffic was diverted through the borough on Pennsylvania State Routes 611 and 940. Dozens of weather related accidents were reported by state police throughout the Poconos. Other snowfall accumulations included 13 inches in Long Pond, 11 inches in Pocono Lakes and 8 inches in Jundale in Carbon County. The snow was heavy and very wet and pulled down numerous power lines. About 38,000 homes and businesses in Pennsylvania, Power and Light's service area in Northeast Pennsylvania lost power with Monroe and Wayne Counties hit the hardest. The hardest hit locations within Monroe County were Blakeslee, Mount Pocono and Mountainhome. There were still 800 homes without power as of 5 p.m. EST on the 7th. In Carbon County, classes were cancelled in the eastern part of the county in Penn Forest and Kidder Townships. In Berks County, six to eight inches of snow fell over the higher terrain of the eastern part of the county from Fleetwood to Hereford Township.