Pennsylvania, 2005

Flood in Pennsylvania, January 23 to 25, 2005

January 23 to 25, 2005 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An ice jam on the Lehigh River caused flooding (ice floes and water) along Lehigh Drive from Adams Street in Easton west to Glendon Hill Road in West Easton. The unseasonably cold weather caused much of the river water to freeze on the roadway.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

An ice jam on the Lehigh River caused flooding (ice floes and water) along Lehigh Drive from Adams Street in Easton west to Glendon Hill Road in West Easton. The unseasonably cold weather caused much of the river water to freeze on the roadway. The road was closed. A 68-year-old man died of hypothermia on the morning of the 24th after his vehicle became stuck in the frozen slush on Lehigh Drive. He left the vehicle and tried to walk a quarter of a mile before he died.

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 Jan 23, 3:50 AM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 3:50 AM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 23, 4:21 AM EST, 1 hour 39 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
421 AM EST SUN JAN 23 2005

DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-
060>062-067>071-241200-
ATLANTIC NJ-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY NJ-BERKS PA-BUCKS PA-CAMDEN NJ-
CAPE MAY NJ-CARBON PA-CAROLINE MD-CECIL MD-CHESTER PA-
COASTAL ATLANTIC NJ-COASTAL OCEAN NJ-CUMBERLAND NJ-DELAWARE PA-
DELAWARE BEACHES DE-EASTERN MONMOUTH NJ-GLOUCESTER NJ-HUNTERDON NJ-
INLAND SUSSEX DE-KENT MD-KENT DE-LEHIGH PA-MERCER NJ-MIDDLESEX NJ-
MONROE PA-MONTGOMERY PA-MORRIS NJ-NEW CASTLE DE-NORTHAMPTON PA-
NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON NJ-OCEAN NJ-PHILADELPHIA PA-QUEEN ANNES MD-
SALEM NJ-SOMERSET NJ-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON NJ-SUSSEX NJ-TALBOT MD-
WARREN NJ-WESTERN MONMOUTH NJ-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALLENTOWN...ATLANTIC CITY...BETHLEHEM...
CAMDEN...DOVER...NEW BRUNSWICK...NEWARK...PERTH AMBOY...
PHILADELPHIA...READING...TRENTON...VINELAND AND WILMINGTON
421 AM EST SUN JAN 23 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST
PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, THE NORTHERN MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE AND NEW
JERSEY, EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST COUNTIES.

.DAY ONE...

BLIZZARD AND WINTER STORM WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THIS MORNING
IN THE NORTHERN THREE QUARTERS OF OUR WARNING AREA. PLEASE REFER TO
WWUS41 FOR FURTHER DETAILS. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR
INLAND LOCATIONS WHICH ARE NO LONGER UNDER EITHER A WINTER STORM OR
BLIZZARD WARNING AND THIS IS SECTIONS OF SOUTHEAST NEW JERSEY AND OUR
SECTION OF THE LOWER DELMARVA. GALE AND STORM WARNINGS REMAIN IN
EFFECT ALONG THE COAST.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER SNOWFALL REPORTS WILL BE APPRECIATED.

TFG

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 23, 4:48 AM EST, 1 hour 12 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Northampton

When
January 23, 6:00 AM EST to January 25, 6:00 PM EST
Where
Northampton forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, January 2005

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: 5434550.