Winter Storm Damon Arrives, Brings Ice and Rain to Lehigh Valley

A storm making its way north covered Lehigh Valley in ice this morning and threatening to cause flooding around the region.

The National Weather Service was predicting possible snowfall for the Lehigh Valley, but precipitation fell in the form of freezing rain during the early morning Tuesday and changed to just rain, The Morning Call reports. As much as 0.15 inches of ice fell in Forks Township, Northampton County.

The NWS has since issued a flood watch for Lehigh and Northampton counties through late tonight. Heavy rain is expected to persist throughout the day. The flood watch is calling for periods of heavy rain through mid-afternoon, with rain totals between 2 and 3 inches.

A hazardous weather outlook issued by the National Weather Service also forecasts that wintry precipitation may continue into Wednesday and that gusty winds will affect the area Wednesday and Wednesday night.

Several accidents were caused during the ice on early Tuesday morning. A crash involving 10 to 20 cars occurred on the Hamilton Street Bridge in Allentown around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, multiple injuries were reported, but none serious, according to The Express-Times.

Here’s your forecast from the National Weather Service through Friday for the Lehigh Valley.

• Tuesday Afternoon: Rain. High near 39. North wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
• Tuesday Night: Rain before 1am, then rain and snow. Low around 32. North wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
• Wednesday: Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 4pm. High near 37. Northwest wind 15 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
• Wednesday Night: Rain showers likely before 7pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers between 7pm and 9pm, then a chance of snow showers after 9pm. Cloudy, with a low around 29. Northwest wind 10 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.
• Thursday: A chance of rain and snow showers before 1pm, then a chance of rain showers between 1pm and 3pm, then a chance of rain and snow showers after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. West wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
• Thursday Night: A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 37.
• Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

(Image via Eastern Pennsylvania Weather Authority, LLC)