Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, April 8 to 9, 2000

A late season winter storm system moved out of the Mississippi Valley on April 7th and across the mid-Atlantic states into southern New England by the 9th. A surge of warm air ahead of the system brought rain and a round of thunderstorms to the region. When the trailing cold front associated with this storm crossed through northeast Pennsylvania, temperatures fell quickly from the 60s to the 30s changing the rain to snow during the evening of the 8th and predawn hours of the 9th. The snow continued heavy at times during the predawn hours of the 9th before tapering off by early afternoon. All of northeast Pennsylvania received some snowfall but areas from Interstate 81 eastward received substantially higher amounts. In these locations, amounts generally ranged from 4 to 6 inches with maximum amounts of 8 inches reported in the higher elevations of Luzerne county. The rapid changeover from rain to snow , along with the intensity of precipitation, made travel quite hazardous. There were many traffic accidents, some with multiple injuries, reported throughout the area.