Three to 4 inches of snow fell on Northumberland County overnight Tuesday into today, marking the fourth measurable snowfall in the last four weeks.
Snow and at times a wintry mix began falling about 10 p.m. in most parts of the county, but had tapered off by rush hour. Major highways were mostly wet by 8 or 9 a.m., according to a county PennDOT official.
However, the storm did prompt schools to call for two-hour delays, while Danville and Southern Columbia were among local districts that canceled classes for the day.
National Weather Service (NWS) had issued a winter weather advisory for 7 p.m. Tuesday until 11 a.m. Wednesday, and meteorologist Craig Evanego predicted the impending storm would be "a little more than a nuisance storm.”
The latest accumulation adds to the nine inches of precipitation and snowfall the area has received so far this season, according to Evanego.
About 2 inches fell on Christmas Eve, another 1 to 2 on Dec. 26, and another 3 to 5 on Dec. 29.
PennDOT trucks pre-treated some of the area’s major routes with anti-icing solution. The process involves wetting the highway with salt brine before a storm’s arrival. The solution lowers the freezing point of water and slows or prevents ice from forming a bond with the road with the pavement during the early stages of the storm.
Department officials remind motorists that the pre-treatment is not a “silver bullet” to keep roads clear, but it gives crews an edge at the start of a storm.
As for what's to come, Evanego said, “We aren’t seeing any significant storms for the rest of the week. We have a bit of a cool down once this system goes through, but then a cold front will make it chilly Thursday into Friday and then a warm up on Saturday with temperatures back into the 40s."
Next week’s concern won’t be falling precipitation, but falling temperatures.
“The big weather story next week will be a steady period of normal winter temperatures,” Evanego said. “We have high temperatures in the 20s and overnight lows in the teens with some colder air on the way.”