Nor’easter slams Lehigh valley
Warning sign: Weather Channel legend Cantore visits Bethlehem for storm
For legendary Weather Channel storm tracker Jim Cantore, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time. For locals of whatever town he chooses to broadcast from, it’s more like the wrong place at the wrong time.
The veteran meteorologist is widely known as the person you don’t want to come to your town during a major storm. For the first major snowstorm of the season, he set his unlucky sights on Bethlehem.
Meteorologists say a foot or more of snow could blanket the Lehigh Valley on Wednesday night into Thursday, with winds gusting to 35 mph or more.
The Christmas City quickly unveiled itself as the right spot for more reasons than the forecast, he explained. On his drive Tuesday night from Philadelphia, he took back roads in the thick of the night, lit mostly by the Lehigh Valley’s plethora of holiday lights displays. What better place to talk about snow?
“It’s Christmas-y, we’re in Christmas town, I mean, what else could you ask for?” he said in an interview with The Morning Call on Wednesday as the first flakes began to fall.
Here is our Q&A with Cantore, edited
for length and clarity.
Q: Why did you pick the heart of the Lehigh Valley? You might get more snow up in the Poconos.
A: Picking a ski area or a mountain is a little like shooting fish in a barrel. You know they’re going to get more snow up there. So we try and hit larger population centers that will be impacted. But we also obviously want to get some decent snow. So what’s transpired is it looks like the chance for sleet here now is a little higher. As a matter of fact, I’d be shocked if we didn’t get some sleet. So that tends to keep the snowfall totals down.
Q: Have you ever been to the Lehigh Valley before? [It’s a homecoming for producer Steve Petyerak, who is from
Whitehall Township.]
A: I’ve been up here before, but I just haven’t been here in a while, because it hasn’t snowed here in a while.
Q: Howlong is a while?
A: I don’t even remember. I’m going to say five to seven years. I was up here for a flood years back, too. This is my first trip to Bethlehem, though.
Q: Any initial impressions? A: It’s beautiful. I love it. People are great. You guys probably have the best Christmas lights out of any state I’ve been to around Christmas, I’ve got to give you that. ... There have been times I’ve come [to the region] and also left because the forecast changed.
Q: I guess that’s why they call you the Storm Tracker. Doyou have any nicknames for yourself?
A: I’m just Jim. I’m just a man, at the end of the day.
Q: What do you think about the possibility of thundersnow tonight?
A: I think it’s good. I think we have a shot. I’ll tell you this: From a strategy standpoint for me, I don’t necessarily play the biggest snow total; I want to play the thunder aspect of the situation. We’ll have thundersnow or thundersleet potentially.
Q: So if you’re choosing between a place with higher snowtotals versus a place with thundersnow potential, you’ll pick the thundersnow? A: Absolutely, all the time.
Q: Why, because it’s more exciting?
A: It’s more exciting. I’ve been in it five times now when we’ve been on the air, and I’ve been a part of it seven times total while broadcasting for the Weather Channel. And I’ve had it all — thundersnow, thundersleet, thunder freezing rain. But thundersnow, especially when it’s hammering snow, is, I don’t know. It’s a thrill for me, you know. What can I say? Different things thrill different people, and that thrills me.
Q: Is that your favorite weather situation to be in?
A: Provided I don’t get struck by lightning. People have died in thundersnow. ... It happens more than we think, but it’s rare to be in the right place at the right time. And especially while you’re on the air and it happens. So that’s pretty wild. Q: Can you think of the craziest or scariest weather situation you’ve been in?
A: Hurricanes with storm surge of 28 feet like Katrina was definitely no picnic. That was probably the most horrible situation I’ve ever been in, without a doubt.
Q: Thinking of other eye-ofthe-snowstorm places you’ve been to, how prepared are we?
A: It sounds like you’re good. I talked to the public works guy this morning in Allentown. I think these guys are champing at the bit. They want to get out there. We’re going to get more snow in 20 minutes in Philadelphia then we got all of last year, just to put things in perspective. In the last five years, there’s only been one storm over 8 inches in Philly. I’m not saying Philly is going to get bad. But if they get 3 inches, that’s 10 times what they got last year. Q: You’ve been called the agent of doom, and people don’t want you in their town. What do you make of that? Does the eye of the storm find you?
A: I like to think I find it. The funniest thing was when I was working with NBC Sports, Al Michaels handed me a present one day while we were doing the
Olympics. It was a Dr. Doom hat. It was so funny, and I still have it. That pretty much sums it up. But here’s the deal: Especially in a hurricane or tornado situation, if it helps people get the word, get them prepared, then it’s a win-win. I love doing snow more than all of it, because typically if you stay off the roads and you don’t go outside and freeze to death, snow is happy to me. Kids are playing in it, you get an off day from school. Even the virtual learning is going to be suspended here tomorrow. It’s something that makes you smile. It’s pretty, it’s Christmas-y, we’re in Christmas town; I mean, what else could you ask for? Especially after this year, who doesn’t need a couple of smiles?