Ice Storm, Carbon
- When
- March 12, 11:00 PM EST to March 13, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Carbon forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, March 12 to 13, 2001
A dry and cold dome of high pressure built into the Northeast on the 11th and 12th. Meanwhile, a low pressure system was developing over the Central States.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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 dry and cold dome of high pressure built into the Northeast on the 11th and 12th. Meanwhile, a low pressure system was developing over the Central States. This low moved northeast from Iowa the morning of the 12th to Lake Superior the morning of the 13th. The low's warm front also moved northeast from the Tennessee Valley the morning of the 12th to the Delmarva Peninsula the morning of the 13th. Relatively warmer air that moved northeast over this frontal boundary developed clouds and precipitation. While it was warm enough above the ground for precipitation to fall as rain, the cold air left in place by the high pressure system made it freeze on contact during the early morning of the 13th in Berks County, the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos. Warm air near the ground moved into the region and changed precipitation over to plain rain by around 3 a.m. EST in Berks County and the Lehigh Valley and by daybreak in the Poconos. The change took the longest over the higher terrain of the Poconos where precipitation nearly ended as freezing rain. About .1 to .2 of an inch of ice accrued on exposed surfaces in Berks County and the Lehigh Valley. But totals reached as much as half an inch in the higher terrain of the Poconos. Any untreated roadways or walkways were extremely slippery. School openings in the Poconos were delayed for two hours the morning of the 13th.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 12, 8:40 PM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 8:40 PM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
840 PM EST MON MAR 12 2001
PCPN ON THE DOORSTEP. JUST A QUICK UPDATE TO FRESHEN OVNGT PD.
.PHI...WINT STM WRNG INTO ERkY TUE PA54-55 NJ1.
WINT WX ADVY INTO ERY TUE PA60-62 NJ7-8.
SML CRAFT ADVY CST AND DE BAY.
KRAUSThe radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 winter weather, 2 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Ice Storm, Monroe
- When
- March 12, 11:00 PM EST to March 13, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Monroe forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Berks
- When
- March 13, 12:00 AM EST to 3:00 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)
Winter Weather, Lehigh
- When
- March 13, 12:00 AM EST to 3:00 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)
Winter Weather, Northampton
- When
- March 13, 12:00 AM EST to 3:00 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)
What these are
- Ice Storm
- Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
- 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
- Tornado in Alabama, March 12, 2001
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, March 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, March 12, 2001
- High Wind in Alabama, March 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, March 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 12, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Mississippi, March 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, March 12, 2001
- Tornado in Georgia, March 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 12, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Texas, March 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, March 12, 2001
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, March 2001
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: 5235166, 5235167, 5235168, 5235169, 5235170.