Pennsylvania, 2010

Ice Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 17, 2010

January 17, 2010 · NWS PHI · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A wintry mix of mainly freezing rain occurred during the second half of the day on the 17th over the Pocono Plateau. Ice accretions averaged one quarter to one half an inch with the highest amounts in Monroe County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 wintry mix of mainly freezing rain occurred during the second half of the day on the 17th over the Pocono Plateau. Ice accretions averaged one quarter to one half an inch with the highest amounts in Monroe County. Snowfall and sleet were generally less than half an inch. Freezing rain began around Noon EST on the 17th. As precipitation intensity increased, the freezing rain briefly changed over to sleet and snow during the first half of the afternoon. As warmer air moved in at the surface, the freezing rain changed to rain during the late evening of the 17th. The rain ended during the early morning on the 18th. Untreated roadways were hazardous, mainly over the higher terrain of the Poconos.

The wintry mix was caused by a low pressure system that moved from the Tennessee Valley at 7 a.m. EST on the 17th northeast and reached the Delmarva Peninsula at 7 p.m. EST on the 17th and was about 125 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts at 7 a.m. EST on the 18th. While it was warm enough aloft for precipitation to fall as rain, because the low pressure system passed southeast of the region, it took longer for temperatures to rise above freezing at the surface.

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 17, 8:38 AM EST, 3 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 17, 8:38 AM EST, 3 hours 22 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 ice storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Monroe

When
January 17, 12:00 PM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Carbon

When
January 17, 12:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Carbon forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
40.918, -75.709 (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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, January 2010

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: 209812, 209813.