Heavy Snow, Carbon
- When
- November 26, 8:00 PM EST to November 27, 7:00 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)
Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, November 26 to 27, 2002
A weak low pressure system that developed on a stalled frontal boundary in the Tennessee Valley on the 26th brought snow to the Poconos, Lehigh Valley, Berks County and the northwestern Philadelphia suburbs. Accumulations ranged between 1 and 5 inches with the highest amounts in Monroe County.
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
- 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.
A weak low pressure system that developed on a stalled frontal boundary in the Tennessee Valley on the 26th brought snow to the Poconos, Lehigh Valley, Berks County and the northwestern Philadelphia suburbs. Accumulations ranged between 1 and 5 inches with the highest amounts in Monroe County. Precipitation began and fell as snow throughout the event in the higher terrain of the Poconos. Elsewhere, precipitation started as rain during the evening of the 26th and mixed with and changed over to snow between 10 p.m. EST on the 26th and 1 a.m. EST on the 27th. The cold air near the surface was limited and the changeover was elevation dependent and took longer in the valleys. Except for the Poconos, the snow had a hard time sticking to roadways as temperatures were above freezing for several days prior to the snow's arrival. Cold air arrived after the low's passage and gave the Poconos a White Thanksgiving (on the 28th). Schools were canceled on the 27th in Jim Thorpe and Pleasant Valley (Carbon County). Accumulations included 5.3 Blakeslee (Monroe County), 5.0 inches in Saylorsburg (Monroe County), 4.4 inches in Tobyhanna (Monroe County), 4.0 inches in Springtown (Bucks County), 3.4 inches in Williams Township (Northampton Township), 3.3 inches in Fogelsville (Lehigh County) and East Stroudsburg (Monroe County), 3.0 inches in Honey Brook (Chester County), and Mahoning Township (Carbon County), 2.6 inches in Glenmoore (Chester County), 2.5 inches in Salisbury Township (Lehigh County), 2.3 inches in Boyertown (Berks County), 2.0 inches in Palm (Montgomery County) and Lehighton (Carbon County) and 1.2 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Monroe
- When
- November 26, 8:00 PM EST to November 27, 7:00 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)
Heavy Snow, Lehigh
- When
- November 26, 10:00 PM EST to November 27, 7:00 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, Northampton
- When
- November 26, 10:00 PM EST to November 27, 7:00 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, Berks
- When
- November 26, 11:00 PM EST to November 27, 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, Bucks
- When
- November 26, 11:00 PM EST to November 27, 7:00 AM EST
- Where
- Bucks forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Heavy Snow, Chester
- When
- November 26, 11:00 PM EST to November 27, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Chester forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Heavy Snow, Montgomery
- When
- November 26, 11:00 PM EST to November 27, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Montgomery forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
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
- Wildfire and High Wind in California, November 26, 2002
- Ice Storm and High Wind in Alaska, November 26 to 27, 2002
- Heavy Snow in New Jersey, November 26 to 27, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, November 26 to 27, 2002
- Hail in Texas, November 26, 2002
- Hail in Texas, November 26, 2002
- Hail in Texas, November 26, 2002
- Heavy Snow in New Mexico, November 26, 2002
- High Wind in Montana, November 26, 2002
- Dense Fog in California, November 26, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, November 26 to 27, 2002
- High Wind in Alaska, November 26 to 27, 2002
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, November 2002
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5323611, 5323613, 5323612, 5323614, 5323609, 5323610, 5323615, 5323616.