Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, December 26 to 27, 2004

About a day or two too late for a White Christmas, light snow fell across Eastern Pennsylvania from the evening of the 26th into the pre-dawn hours of the 27th. For many, this was the first accumulating snow of the season. Accumulations averaged between one to two inches across much of the area, with slightly lower accumulations near Philadelphia. Temperatures were below freezing. The snow, even though it was light, led to many accidents. In Bucks County, in Milford Township, a truck slid off a road. In the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos, the snow and ice led to numerous accidents, particularly on Interstates 78 and 80, U.S. Route 22 and Pennsylvania State Route 33. While the accidents were numerous, there were few injuries and most were minor.Accumulations included 2.0 inches in Springtown, Perkasie and Fricks (Bucks County), 1.4 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, 1.0 inch in Green Lane (Montgomery County), 0.5 inches in Media (Delaware County) and 0.3 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport.While a low pressure system moved northeast off the North Carolina coast during the evening of the 26th, the driving force for the snow was the upper air disturbance that moved directly across Eastern Pennsylvania during the night of the 26th.