Winter Storm, Berks
- When
- January 30, 3:00 PM EST to January 31, 1:00 AM EST
- Where
- Berks forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 30 to 31, 2000
A low pressure system developed in the western Gulf of Mexico during the day on the 28th. It slowly moved eastnortheast and by Sunday morning the 30th was located near Apalachicola Florida, not too far from the location of the January 25th storm.
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
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 low pressure system developed in the western Gulf of Mexico during the day on the 28th. It slowly moved eastnortheast and by Sunday morning the 30th was located near Apalachicola Florida, not too far from the location of the January 25th storm. Unlike the previous storm, this one tracked farther to the west and moved northeast along the Atlantic Seaboard. By the morning of the 31st, it was located near Boston, Massachusetts. The farther westward storm track permitted warm air near the surface and aloft to move into Pennsylvania, particularly the Philadelphia area during the event. There was less cold air present at the start of the storm, especially nearer the coast. Most of it was in the lowest layers of the atmosphere. This led to the more typical potpourri of weather across Eastern Pennsylvania with primarily snow in the Poconos and a wintry mix farther south and east. Precipitation started during the afternoon as snow throughout the state. By early evening precipitation had changed to sleet and freezing rain around the immediate Philadelphia area, but the transition away from snow was painfully slow farther north and west as heavy snow continued to fall. Around 9 p.m. EST enough warm air had moved into the local Philadelphia area to change the precipitation to plain rain. Meanwhile a transition to sleet with some freezing rain was occurring in the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia's far northwestern suburbs. As the low pressure system made its closest pass to the area during the evening, colder air started to return on its west side and the sleet changed back to snow in both Pottstown (Montgomery County) and Allentown (Lehigh County) after 10 p.m. EST. Precipitation ended from south to north from midnight through 3 a.m. EST on the 31st. Temperatures never made it above freezing except for the local Philadelphia area. Accumulations were highest in the Poconos where precipitation fell as snow throughout the event. The greatest accretion of ice, around one-third of an inch, occurred in the local Philadelphia area. Untreated roadways were very treacherous and high traffic volume due to Super Bowl Sunday exacerbated the problems. Within Philadelphia there were numerous minor accidents. In hilly Manayunk bus routes were either cancelled or rerouted. Chester County emergency personnel responded to about 20 vehicular accidents. Snow emergencies were declared in 8 municipalities in Montgomery County. The accretion of ice, snow and sleet downed wires and caused power outages to 5,000 homes and businesses in Philadelphia's suburbs. In Monroe County the heavy snow forced the cancellation of schools on Monday the 31st.Snowfall accumulations included: in Carbon County 6 inches in Albrightsville; in Monroe County 11 inches in East Stroudsburg, 10.6 inches in Bossardsville and 9.5 inches in Pocono Summit.; in Berks County 7.5 inches in Mertztown, 7 inches in Blue Marsh Lake and Hamburg and 6 inches in Bechtelsville; in Lehigh County 7 inches in Fogelsville and 6 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport; in Northampton County 8 inches in Williams Township and 6.8 inches in Bath; in Chester County 5.6 inches in Glenmoore, 4 inches in West Chester and 3 inches in Downingtown; in Montgomery County 6 inches in Palm, 5.5 inches in Pottstown and 2 inches in Wynnewood; in Bucks County 7 inches in Springtown, 4 inches in Sellersville and 2.1 inches in Furlong and 2 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 winter storm, 2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Chester
- When
- January 30, 3:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
- Where
- Chester forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Winter Storm, Delaware
- When
- January 30, 3:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Lehigh
- When
- January 30, 3:00 PM EST to January 31, 1:00 AM 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, Carbon
- When
- January 30, 4:00 PM EST to January 31, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Carbon forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Monroe
- When
- January 30, 4:00 PM EST to January 31, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Monroe forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Bucks
- When
- January 30, 4:00 PM EST to January 31, 1:00 AM EST
- Where
- Bucks forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Winter Storm, Montgomery
- When
- January 30, 4:00 PM EST to January 31, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Winter Storm, Northampton
- When
- January 30, 4:00 PM EST to January 31, 1:00 AM EST
- Where
- Northampton forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Philadelphia
- When
- January 30, 4:00 PM 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)
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
- 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
- Extreme Cold in Oklahoma, January 30, 2000
- Ice Storm in Virginia, January 30, 2000
- Ice Storm in Virginia, January 30, 2000
- Winter Storm in Vermont, January 30 to 31, 2000
- Winter Storm in New York, January 30 to 31, 2000
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 30 to 31, 2000
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 30 to 31, 2000
- Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Virginia, January 30, 2000
- Winter Weather in New York, January 30 to 31, 2000
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 30 to 31, 2000
- Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Maryland, January 30, 2000
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in New Jersey, January 30 to 31, 2000
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, January 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: 5129741, 5129743, 5129744, 5129745, 5129739, 5129740, 5129742, 5129746, 5129834, 5129835.