Pennsylvania, 2000

Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 30, 2000

December 30, 2000 · NWS PHI · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

The first widespread major snowstorm of the season blanketed most of Eastern Pennsylvania with 5 to 12 inches on December 30th. Snow began falling during the predawn hours and fell heavy at times into the early afternoon.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
8

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.

The first widespread major snowstorm of the season blanketed most of Eastern Pennsylvania with 5 to 12 inches on December 30th. Snow began falling during the predawn hours and fell heavy at times into the early afternoon. The western edge of the heaviest snow cut across the western parts of the Philadelphia suburbs, Lehigh Valley and the Poconos. For example, in Chester County, accumulations ranged from around 6 inches in the far eastern parts of the county to only an inch along its western border with Lancaster County. The city of Philadelphia declared a snow emergency, permitting only emergency vehicles to drive through Center City. About thirty flights were cancelled at Philadelphia International Airport. Amtrak cancelled its Metroliner Service along the northeast corridor. Snow emergencies were also declared in a few municipalities in Montgomery and Monroe Counties. Dozens of businesses never opened as heavy snow had already fallen by 10 a.m. EST. Because the heavy snow started early in the day and it was a Saturday morning (the 30th), the number of traffic accidents were relatively low.Accumulations included 12 inches in Souderton (Montgomery County) and Perkasie (Bucks County), 11 inches in Morgan Hill (Northampton County) and Hatfield (Montgomery County), 10.2 inches in Saylorsburg (Monroe County), 10 inches in Warrington (Bucks County), 9 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport and Levittown (Bucks County), 8.5 inches in Pocono Summit (Monroe County), 8.2 inches in King of Prussia (Montgomery County), 8 inches in Bristol (Bucks County) and Franklin Mills (Philadelphia County), 7 inches in Newtown (Delaware County) and Norristown (Montgomery County), 6.4 inches in Clifton Heights (Delaware County), 6 inches in Allentown, 5 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, 4 inches in Green Lane (Montgomery County) and Valley Forge (Chester County), 2.2 inches in Reading (Berks County), 2 inches in West Chester (Chester County), 1.8 inches in Pottstown (Montgomery County) and 1 inch in Glenmoore (Chester County). The low pressure system responsible for the heavy snow developed just east of Elizabeth City, North Carolina during the evening of the 29th. By 5 a.m. EST it was located about 75 miles east of Cape Charles, Virginia and by 9 a.m. EST it was located about 50 miles east of Delaware Bay Buoy. At this point, the low started to intensify more rapidly and by 5 p.m. EST on the 30th as it crossed the Twin Forks of Long Island, it had dropped to a 992 Mb low, a 10 millibar drop in an eight hour period.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Chester

When
December 30, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When
December 30, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Montgomery

When
December 30, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Philadelphia

When
December 30, 4:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Philadelphia forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bucks

When
December 30, 4:30 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Lehigh

When
December 30, 5:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Lehigh forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northampton

When
December 30, 5:30 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Northampton forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When
December 30, 6:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.058, -75.339 (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: 5168503, 5168504, 5168507, 5168509, 5168502, 5168505, 5168508, 5168506.