Pennsylvania, 2000

Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 19 to 20, 2000

December 19 to 20, 2000 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A secondary low pressure system that developed along the Middle Atlantic coast the evening of the 19th and a primary low pressure system that moved through the Great Lakes brought the first widespread snow of the season to Eastern Pennsylvania and heavy snow to the Poconos. The snow associated with the first low pressure system advanced into the Poconos and Berks County during the afternoon of…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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 secondary low pressure system that developed along the Middle Atlantic coast the evening of the 19th and a primary low pressure system that moved through the Great Lakes brought the first widespread snow of the season to Eastern Pennsylvania and heavy snow to the Poconos. The snow associated with the first low pressure system advanced into the Poconos and Berks County during the afternoon of the 19th. Farther east advancement of the snow waited for the secondary development that evening. The accumulating snow ended by sunrise on the 20th. Accumulations averaged 3 to 7 inches in the Poconos, 2 to 5 inches in Berks County and the Lehigh Valley and 1 to 3 inches across southeast Pennsylvania. School openings on the 20th were delayed for two hours in the Poconos. Roads were slippery, even a snow plow slid on its side in Towamensing Township (Carbon County). Actual accumulations included 7 inches in White Haven (Luzerne County), 6 inches in Cresco and Pocono Summit (Monroe County), 5 inches in Tobyhanna (Monroe County) and Womelsdorf (Berks County), 4 inches in Lehighton (Carbon County), 3.6 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, 3.5 inches in Bath (Northampton County) and Blue Marsh Lake (Berks County), 3.3 inches in East Stroudsburg (Monroe County), 3.2 inches in Palm (Montgomery County), 3 inches in Fricks (Bucks County), 2.5 inches in New Hope (Bucks County), 2.3 inches in Glenmoore (Chester County), 2.0 inches in West Chester (Chester County) and Newtown Square (Delaware County), 1.5 inches in Wynnewood (Montgomery County) and 1 inch at the Philadelphia International Airport, Springfield (Delaware County), Doylestown and Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County).

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Carbon

When
December 19, 12:30 PM EST to December 20, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Carbon forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When
December 19, 12:30 PM EST to December 20, 7:00 AM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Berks

When
December 19, 5:00 PM EST to December 20, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Berks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lehigh

When
December 19, 6:00 PM EST to December 20, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Lehigh forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bucks

When
December 19, 7:00 PM EST to December 20, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Chester

When
December 19, 7:00 PM EST to December 20, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Montgomery

When
December 19, 7:00 PM EST to December 20, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Northampton

When
December 19, 7:00 PM EST to December 20, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Northampton forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When
December 19, 9:00 PM EST to December 20, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Philadelphia

When
December 19, 9:00 PM EST to December 20, 5:00 AM EST
Where
Philadelphia forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, December 2000

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: 5168894, 5168895, 5168945, 5168949, 5168946, 5168947, 5168950, 5168951, 5168948, 5168952.