Date: Friday, January 17, 1992
Page: B01
Edition: THIRD
Section: EASTON
FIRST STORM OF 1992 IS MORE SHOW THAN SNOW
The Morning Call
Reporters Phil Boyle, Margie Peterson and Susan Todd contributed to this report.
The first snowstorm of 1992 was a nuisance, causing fender-benders and closing and
delaying schools, but didn't have much to show for itself.
Snow fell for 8-1/2 hours, ending at 8:10 a.m. yesterday, but only half an inch
accumulated, said Charles A. Giannetta of the National Weather Service at
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Airport.
The storm left an inch in Bath, and at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport the
National Weather Service reported 2 inches. "It was a fast-moving storm, and there wasn't
much moisture," Giannetta said. In addition to snow, the storm brought 20-25 mph winds
yesterday and temperatures that felt like 20 below zero with the wind-chill factor,
Giannetta said. The winds reached 51 mph at 6:42 a.m. yesterday, he said. "That's why my
garbage cans went for a ride," he said. But it was snow that sent a chill down the spines
of motorists.
State police at Fogelsville, Reading, Swiftwater, Bethlehem and Hamburg and several municipal
police departments reported numerous small accidents in the early morning hours. Hellertown
Police Chief Allen Stiles said the only accident in the borough was when a car slid into a
snowplow at Magnolia Drive and Main Street. North and southbound traffic on Route 412 was
slow and backed up between 7 and 8 a.m. because of icy roadways, he said.
An accident involving a tractor-trailer on Route 22 westbound at the Cedar Crest Boulevard
interchange closed the roadway for a period of time. Wendell S. Sherman, Bethlehem public
works director, said street crews were called out about 4 a.m., but "it was not a full-fledged
snow operation." Philip Sabatine, management coordinator for the state Department of
Transportation road maintenance in Northampton County, said about 35 trucks started cindering,
salting and placing anti-skid material on roads about 1 a.m.
In Carbon County, Carl Johnson, 48, of Kunkletown, slid off Forest Inn Road in Lower
Towamensing Township and into a chain-link fence about 5 a.m. yesterday, state police in
Lehighton said. He was not injured. Shortly after 10 a.m., Edward Reis Jr. of Jim Thorpe
slid off Front Street and rolled over into a park on Front Street, borough police said. Police
said Reis was not injured.
Northampton County Control reported no accidents in their area but said they received several
fire alarms caused by a power outage. Jim Burns of Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. said 2,237
customers in the Pointe North area of Hanover Township, Northampton County, lost service about
9:10 a.m. when a relay opened in a substation at Lehigh Valley Industrial Park IV.
"It's a real strong possibility that it might be storm-related," Burns said. "A tree branch
might have hit the line." He said power was restored to all customers by 10:16 a.m. Many school
districts in the region -- including Allentown, Bethlehem Area and Northampton Area -- delayed
the start of classes. Some others, such as Kutztown and Northern Lehigh, closed.
Meteorologist Giannetta said today should be almost like an instant replay of yesterday,
with partly cloudy skies, winds from the northwest at 15-20 mph, and a chance of flurries.
But the overnight low is not expected to be as chilling as it was last night, he said. By 10
p.m. yesterday the temperature at the airport was 13 degrees, and Giannetta said he expected
the overnight low to dip to 5 degrees.
"WEATHER BY GIANNETTA"