Snow Storm Hits Lehigh Valley, Affects Thanksgiving Travel

Cato, the first named winter storm of the season, has begun dropping snow across the Lehigh Valley and impacting Thanksgiving Holiday travel.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning calling for 5 to 10 inches of heavy, wet snow, up from 4 to 8 inches earlier, with the heaviest accumulations in higher elevations. The NWS is urging travelers to consider altering their plans or to travel on early Thursday after the roads have been cleared.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m., the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced speed limit restrictions on its Twitter page. According to the tweet, PennDOT restricted the speed to 45 mph on I-84, I-380, 1-80, I-81 and Route 33, and urged drivers to “take it slow.”

So far this morning the speed restrictions are the only example of travel being impacted. Few flights have been delayed or canceled at Lehigh Valley International Airport.

The National Weather Service forecast for the remainder of Wednesday and Thursday is as follows:

• Wednesday night: Snow, mainly before 1am. Low around 27. Northwest wind 5 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.

• Thanksgiving Day A slight chance of snow showers after 7am, mixing with rain after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 38. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

• Thursday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. Northwest wind around 6 mph.