Winter Storm, Carbon
- When
- January 16, 1:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
- Where
- Carbon forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, January 16, 1997
A large high pressure system brought a cold and dry air mass into Eastern Pennsylvania. As the high drifted off the Middle Atlantic Coast, a slow moving cold front tapped the moisture in the Gulf of Mexico and dropped heavy precipitation across the area.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
A large high pressure system brought a cold and dry air mass into Eastern Pennsylvania. As the high drifted off the Middle Atlantic Coast, a slow moving cold front tapped the moisture in the Gulf of Mexico and dropped heavy precipitation across the area. Precipitation started briefly as snow across the area during the early morning of the 16th, but then changed over to a prolonged period of sleet and freezing rain that lasted through the morning commute. Snow accumulations averaged around two inches in the Poconos and an inch or less in the Lehigh Valley. Ice accretions averaged around one-quarter of an inch across most of the area and made travelling extremely hazardous on untreated roadways and surfaces. As precipitation was ending the morning of the 16th, temperatures rose above the freezing mark and helped melt the ice and snow.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Monroe
- When
- January 16, 1:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
- Where
- Monroe forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Lehigh
- When
- January 16, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
- Where
- Lehigh forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Northampton
- When
- January 16, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
- Where
- Northampton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Ice Storm in Washington, January 16 to 17, 1997
- Strong Wind in New York, January 16, 1997
- Cold in West Virginia, January 16 to 20, 1997
- Winter Weather in Ohio, January 16 to 17, 1997
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, January 16, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 16 to 18, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 16, 1997
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 16, 1997
- Cold in Ohio, January 16 to 20, 1997
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 16 to 19, 1997
- Cold in Wisconsin, January 16, 1997
- Blizzard in Wisconsin, January 16, 1997
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, January 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5596461, 5596463, 5596462, 5596464.