Region could get rain, touch of snow, from Zeta
For the fourth time this year, a tropical system is taking aim at the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. This time, it might bring snow.
Yes, snow.
Hurricane Zeta was upgraded from a tropical storm Monday as it heads toward the eastern end of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm will approach the battered central U.S. Gulf Coast by Wednesday, with its remnants ultimately spinning up into the Lehigh Valley by the end of the week.
The storm could make landfall anywhere from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, forecasters said, before making the turn northeast and heading this way.
It will be the second tropical system to move through the region this month.
Tropical Storm Fay cut a slow, wet path across the Lehigh Valley on July 10, and Isaias sucker-punched the Lehigh Valley and the rest of the mid-Atlantic on Aug. 4.
The remnants of Delta washed through just a few weeks ago, but with rainfall totals lower than anticipated.
Zeta will be different, interacting with a cold front as it arrives (with an emphasis on “cold”).
According to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly:
Rain is forecast to begin in the region late Wednesday night and early Thursday. Rain is likely from Thursday into Thursday night, and it could become moderate to heavy due to the presence of tropical moisture.
While the location of the heaviest rain remains uncertain at this time, rainfall totals in excess of 1 inch are possible.
As the remnants of Zeta begin moving off the coast on Thursday night, cold air should begin to build into the region from the northwest. There continues to be some indication that a brief period of snow is possible in elevated areas of the Poconos from late Thursday night into early Friday morning.
Empire Weather, which provides local forecasts for The Morning Call, said the changeover to snow should only be a risk for the higher elevations, but it can’t rule out a few flakes in our area.
“Usually, these events are fleeting as cold air typically arrives after significant precipitation, despite what models attempt to convey,” said meteorologist Ed Vallee. “As such, we are hesitant to be too bullish here with snow, but the potential is definitely there for some snow in the Poconos (especially above 1,000 feet) and even a few flakes in the Lehigh Valley.”
The last time the Lehigh Valley saw measurable snow around Halloween, it came in the form of a snowstorm that socked the area and caused widespread power outages in 2011.
Zeta is the furthest into the Greek alphabet the Atlantic hurricane season has gone.
There was also a Tropical Storm Zeta in 2005, but that year had had only 28 storms, including one missed storm later classified as an “unnamed” system.
Hurricane season officially ends Nov. 30.