Snow followed by ice in the wake of a deep freeze weekend could make travel conditions treacherous on Presidents Day.
A winter storm is expected to bring snow, ice and rain through the Lehigh Valley region starting on Presidents Day. (AccuWeather graphic) Enough snow and ice Monday will accumulate to cause messy travel conditions, disrupt plans and lead to possible power outages, weather forecasters say.
Brutal cold over this Valentine's Day weekend will lead to a wintry mix of snow, freezing rain and ice in Monday's forecast for Presidents Day. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly has issued a winter weather advisory, in effect from 9 a.m. Monday to 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Affected areas include Sussex, Hunterdon and Warren counties in New Jersey and Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe and Bucks counties in Pennsylvania.
Snow is expected to begin by late Monday morning and continue throughout the day. Snow will then mix with sleet Monday afternoon before changing over to freezing rain by Monday evening, the weather service says.
Sean Rowland, a meteorologist with WeatherWorks in Hackettstown, said the changeover likely will occur between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday. Then, an eventual changeover to all rain is predicted by Tuesday morning.
When it's all done, 2 to 4 inches of snow is likely to accumulate and an estimated quarter-inch inch of ice, according to the weather service. AccuWeather is predicting 1 to 3 inches of snowfall and says sidewalks and roads will remain slippery throughout the day.
Power restored after outage caused by wind-whipped utility line
"Tuesday morning will be iffy," Rowland said of the morning commute. "There will be some ice on paved surfaces because it was so cold this weekend."
The high Sunday evening will be 5 to 10 degrees, Rowland said.
Monday is expected to have a high of 25 to 30 degrees and by Tuesday, temperatures could rise to the upper-30s, according to Rowland.
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High winds Sunday led to a utility line coming down and 3,330 Met-Ed customers without power. AccuWeather forecasters say sporadic power outages could also occur Monday if high winds and ice bring down more utility lines.
The chance of precipitation Monday is 80 percent and it's 90 percent Monday night, according to the weather service.
Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.