Low pressure pushed northeastward up the Ohio Valley and across Pennsylvania from the evening of February 24 into the morning of February 25, 2022. This system produced primarily sleet and freezing rain across central Pennsylvania.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS CTP wrote it up.
Low pressure pushed northeastward up the Ohio Valley and across Pennsylvania from the evening of February 24 into the morning of February 25, 2022. This system produced primarily sleet and freezing rain across central Pennsylvania. 0.10 to 0.40 of ice accretion was observed south of I-80, with the higher-end ice accretion occurring in the southern Allegheny Mountains. 1 to 2 inches of primarily sleet (and a bit of snow) accumulated along and north of the I-80 corridor.
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 State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 4:50 PM EST, 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service State College PA 450 PM EST Thu Feb 24 2022 .SYNOPSIS... A quick-hitting mixed precipitation event will impact central PA with hazardous travel conditions this evening through Friday morning. Seasonably cold temperatures and mainly dry conditions are expected to close out February. March comes in like a lamb with no significant weather and a warming trend through next week. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 7 PM THIS EVENING/... Cloudy this evening with temps holding in the mid 20s to low 30s. Main focus will be onset timing of wintry mix expected to surge from SW to NE after 7PM/00Z Friday. && .SHORT TERM /7 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... Latest hires guidance shows wintry mix overspreading CPA btwn 00-05Z. Precip should begin as sleet/freezing rain south of I80 and snow to the north. Sleet/freezing rain transition zone initially sets up along the PA Turnpike and west of I99 before creeping northward to I80 into the predawn hours. A changeover to plain rain is expected across the far southwest and southeast portions of the area by daybreak Friday. Overall, not much change to the previous forecast. Ice storm warning and winter weather advisory remain in effect. We reconfigured the zone breakout to better match with snow/sleet and ice accumulations. Snowfall amounts trended slightly lower across the far northern tier, where a brief period of 1"/hr rates are possible within the WAA thump ~6-10Z. The lower trend has been a clear signal in the NBM 4.0 and 4.1 data. Ice totals remain consistent with 0.25-0.50" over the ridges and summits in the Laurel Highlands/southwest Alleghenies with a glaze to two tenths expected elsewhere. Precip ends as rain/snow/sleet mix around midday Friday a colder air aloft returns from the NW. Strong wind gusts develop into Friday afternoon with gusts >40 mph/approaching advy level across the Laurel Highlands into the south central Alleghenies. This could lead to additional power outages due to stress on ice-laden tree limbs and powerlines. Temps on Friday should get above freezing at least briefly before trending colder to end the day. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Northwest winds will steadily decrease Friday night with moderate gusts into the upper teens and mid 20s in the evening. The subsidence inversion will be low (4 kft agl or less) and the moisture subsequently shallow. Cloud temps will reside in the prime DGZ though, so expect occasional flurries with little accumulation limited to the Laurels and NW Mtns. A ridge of high pressure nosing in from the ohio valley will provide dry conditions for Saturday with the amount of cloudy varying from BKN over the Northern and Western Mtns to scattered over the Susq Valley. Temps will be 5-8F below normal Saturday then rebound to near normal for Sunday. The coldest temps in the 925-850 mb layer will be over Central PA Saturday, then will moderate by 8-10C by Sunday morning before a cold front (with just a period of clouds and flurries or scattered snow showers mainly across the N. Mtns) drops south- southeast across the CWA in the afternoon and evening. Another bubble of high pressure slides ESE across the state with fair and cold conditions Monday, then briefly milder air across the Central and SE zones Tuesday, before another clipper tracks SE and brings some more snow showers mainly to the N Mtns. An amplifying Eastern Canada upper trough will extend south through the NE U.S. keep us mainly dry and seasonably cold through the second half of next week. && .AVIATION /22Z THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... We had a few tiny snow flakes at mid morning, as models hinted at. Then some sun at mid day. Now looking at some radar returns. Most areas still not having any weather, but JST down to 2SM. Expect a few small snow flakes or small sleet to develop, as we head into early evening. Timing and type of precipitation still looks good. Minor adjustments made to the fcst. Earlier discussion below. VFR OVC cigs mainly between 040-060 should continue through the rest of the daylight hours at most airfields, with the exception of the Laurel Highlands (KJST) and areas in the immediately surroundings where MVFR CIGS will try to work north toward a KJST to KAOO line after 19Z. Conditions will deteriorate rapidly from S to N after 00z Fri as IFR/LIFR cigs and vsbys arrive with a broad area of wintry weather (SNPL then ZR). LLWS at all TAF sites overnight before a 6-8 hour period of gusty westerly winds 35 -low 40 kts Late Friday morning through mid afternoon. Outlook... Fri...AM low cigs/mixed precip likely. Gusty PM west winds. Sat and Sun...No sig wx expected Central and South. Scattered snow showers likely with a cold front northern PA Sunday afternoon and night. followed by NW gusty winds. Mon...No sig wx expected. Tue...No sig wx expected. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 1 PM EST Friday for PAZ004>006-037-041-042. Ice Storm Warning until 10 AM EST Friday for PAZ017-024-025- 033-034. Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM EST Friday for PAZ010>012- 018-019-026>028-035-036-045-046-049>053-056>059-063>066. && SYNOPSIS...Steinbugl NEAR TERM...Steinbugl SHORT TERM...Steinbugl LONG TERM...Lambert AVIATION...Lambert/Martin
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service State College PA 247 PM EST Thu Feb 24 2022 PAZ010>012-028-036-045-046-049>053-056>059-063>066-252000- Elk-Cameron-Northern Clinton-Juniata-Franklin-Southern Clinton- Southern Lycoming-Union-Snyder-Montour-Northumberland-Columbia-Perry- Dauphin-Schuylkill-Lebanon-Cumberland-Adams-York-Lancaster- 247 PM EST Thu Feb 24 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM EST FRIDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Pennsylvania. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Winter Weather Advisory. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Winter Weather Advisory. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather. PAZ004>006-037-041-042-252000- Warren-McKean-Potter-Tioga-Northern Lycoming-Sullivan- 247 PM EST Thu Feb 24 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 1 PM EST FRIDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Pennsylvania. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Winter Weather Advisory. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Winter Weather Advisory. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather. PAZ017-024-025-033-034-252000- Clearfield-Cambria-Blair-Somerset-Bedford- 247 PM EST Thu Feb 24 2022 ...ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST FRIDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Pennsylvania. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Ice Storm Warning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Ice Storm Warning. Wind gusts over 40 mph are possible later Friday morning into the afternoon especially on the ridge tops and could cause additional power outages due to ice laden trees and power lines. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather. PAZ018-019-026-027-035-252000- Northern Centre-Southern Centre-Huntingdon-Mifflin-Fulton- 247 PM EST Thu Feb 24 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 10 AM EST FRIDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Pennsylvania. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Winter Weather Advisory. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov/StateCollege on the internet for more information about the following hazards. Winter Weather Advisory. Wind gusts over 40 mph are possible later Friday morning into the afternoon. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report significant hazardous weather.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 ice storm, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
An ice storm produced over a quarter of an inch (0.25) of ice accretion across Somerset County from the evening of February 24 to the morning of February 25, 2022.
An ice storm produced over a quarter of an inch (0.25) of ice accretion across Cambria County from the evening of February 24 to the morning of February 25, 2022.
An ice storm produced over a quarter of an inch (0.25) of ice accretion across western Bedford County from the evening of February 24 to the morning of February 25, 2022.
An ice storm produced over a quarter of an inch (0.25) of ice accretion across western Blair County from the evening of February 24 to the morning of February 25, 2022.
Over an inch of sleet accumulation led to difficult travel across north-central Pennsylvania, and resulted in the closing of U.S. Route 15 northbound near Cemetery Hill Road in Brady Township, southern Lycoming County, for nearly an hour due to several disabled tractor trailers.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 2022
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: 1000541, 1000542, 1000544, 1000545, 1000564.