Pennsylvania, 1998

Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, February 17, 1998

February 17, 1998 · NWS PHI · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A low pressure system over the lower Tennessee Valley the morning of the 16th pushed moisture over a dome of cold dry air near the surface provided by a high pressure system over the New England and Middle Atlantic States the night of the 16th. Precipitation began as light freezing rain in the valleys of Monroe and Carbon Counties around midnight.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 low pressure system over the lower Tennessee Valley the morning of the 16th pushed moisture over a dome of cold dry air near the surface provided by a high pressure system over the New England and Middle Atlantic States the night of the 16th. Precipitation began as light freezing rain in the valleys of Monroe and Carbon Counties around midnight. Only a few hundredths of an inch of freezing rain fell overnight, but that was more than enough to make untreated roadways slippery. Enough warm air moved into the Southern Poconos by the morning of the 17th to lift temperatures above the freezing mark and make the precipitation fall as plain rain.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Carbon

When
February 17, 12:00 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 Weather, Monroe

When
February 17, 12:00 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)

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 1998

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5631924, 5631925.