Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, December 22 to 23, 1997

A high pressure system moved across the Middle Atlantic and New England States on the 21st and 22nd. It brought dry and cold air into the region. Early Monday morning (the 22nd) a secondary low pressure system was developing off the South Carolina Coast as its primary system was weakening in the Tennessee Valley. The South Carolina low intensified and moved quickly up the Eastern Seaboard and was just south of Long Island at 7 a.m. EST on the 23rd. While warmer air arrived across Eastern Pennsylvania above the ground, the low moved too quickly (coupled with a land-based northeast flow trajectory) to permit surface temperatures to get above freezing, This was especially true in the Poconos and the Lehigh Valley. Precipitation started briefly as light snow and sleet the afternoon of the 22nd, but once it intensified during the night time hours of the 22nd and 23rd, it fell mainly as freezing rain. Temperatures did slowly rise overnight and most locations in Berks County and the northwest Philadelphia Suburbs were above freezing by the morning of the 23rd. An inch or less of snow fell across the area and between a quarter to a half an inch of ice accrued on exposed surfaces. Driving was hazardous on untreated roadways and the freezing rain contributed to one traffic fatality in the Lehigh Valley. Numerous accidents were reported in Middle and Upper Bucks County and the Lehigh Valley. In Lehigh County, a 30-year-old woman passenger was killed in Upper Macungie Township when the minivan she was riding in struck a sound barrier on westbound Interstate 78 at 750 p.m. EST on the 22nd. Another serious accident also occurred in Whitehall Township. In Northampton County, a rash of accidents were reported. Numerous fender benders occurred during the evening rush hour. In Palmer Township alone 11 accidents occurred in a one hour span between 630 p.m. and 730 p.m. EST. The State Police in Bethlehem responded to 17 accidents between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. EST. Plainfield Township was forced to close a roadway because of the ice and accidents. In Bucks County, the night was described as "nasty" across the middle and upper sections of the county. Pennsylvania State Route 309 was closed for a while. Numerous accidents were reported in Buckingham, Plumstead (where a vehicle went off a cliff into a quarry) and Sellersville.