Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, December 29 to 30, 1997

A low pressure system formed to the lee of the Southern Rockies the morning of December 28th and moved east into the Tennessee Valley the morning of the 29th. A second low pressure system formed along the South Carolina Coast the morning of the 29th and intensified rapidly as it moved northward and became the main low pressure system. The low moved inland along the New Jersey shore the night of the 29th and by 7 a.m. EST on the 30th it was located in southern Vermont.The Poconos were far enough to the west of the low pressure system's storm track for precipitation to fall as heavy snow and sleet. Even in the Poconos, accumulations were elevation dependent as some rain mixed in during the evening of the 29th in the valleys. Across the Lehigh Valley, precipitation started as rain around sunset on the 29th and as colder air started to flow into the region, the precipitation began mixing with sleet before midnight and changed over to sleet and snow during the early morning on the 30th. Accumulations in the Poconos ranged from around 4 inches in the valleys to over one foot over the higher terrain. Accumulations in the Lehigh Valley were generally between 1 and 4 inches. The heavy snow in the Poconos combined with wind gusts between 20 and 30 mph brought down some trees and power lines and caused numerous accidents. About 5,700 homes lost power during the evening of the 29th and 700 were still without power the evening of the 30th. Snowfall accumulations included 16 inches in Long Pond (Monroe County), 12 inches in Swiftwater (Monroe County), 11.5 inches in Pocono Lake (Monroe County), 4 inches in Lehighton (Carbon County) and an estimated 2.5 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport.