First storm of season brings ice Many crashes occurred Sunday, power knocked out to some customers

More than 1,000 people were without power early this morning in Carbon County on the heels of the first winter storm of the season.

As of 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 791 were out in Towamensing Township; 342 in East Penn Township; 11 in Lower Towamensing Township; two in Franklin Township; and one in Penn Forest Township.

In Monroe County, 23 were without power in Eldred Township, and one in Polk Township.

Over in Schuylkill County, 27 customers were without power in West Penn Township and three in Rush Township.

As of 9 a.m., those figures were reduced to 636 in Carbon; and 27 in Schuylkill County.

In Monroe, however, 71 were without power in Eldred Township, and one in Polk Township.

As for Carbon, 342 were without power in East Penn Township, as crews were out assessing damage, with estimated time to be restored to be determined. In Towamensing, there were 261 without power, though crews were on site making repairs, and power was expected to be restored by noon. There were also 20 in Penn Forest, 11 in Lower Towamensing, and two in Franklin.

In Schuylkill, 27 were still without power in West Penn Township.

Crews were on scene attempting to restore power as quickly and safely as possible, according to PPL Director Carol Obando-Derstine.

“The weather has caused a lot of outages,” Obando-Derstine said. “A lot of ice accumulation on trees and limbs are causing the outages.”

Snow was expected at times today, according to Ron Richards, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.

“Basically for your area, on top of what you got overnight into the end of the event tonight, I think we’re looking at a total of 3-6 inches,” Richards said. “I think probably the lesser of that (3 inches).”

Richards said the snow should continue to fall into the evening, but that the storm will move away late in the evening, with just a couple of flurries to remain.

“There hasn’t been as much snow; in your higher elevations, I still would allow for the potential of 6 inches,” he said. “I think generally in your lower elevation areas, 3-6 inches.”

Several crashes were reported throughout the region on Sunday, including one in the 300 block of Washington Street in Tamaqua, where a car slid into a porch, damaging the awning.

Another crash was reported on Owl Creek Road, where a truck ended up on its side.

In addition, the icy conditions resulted in a multivehicle crash Sunday morning on the Pennsylvania Turnpike north of Hickory Run.

Pennsylvania State Police Pocono Station said the incident was called in at 10:21 a.m. and involved seven vehicles that slid on ice.

Police said the vehicles were traveling at slow speeds, hit an ice patch, and clogged up the roadways.

Police said there were minor injuries, as two people were transported to the hospital.

Lehighton Ambulance, Lake Harmony Ambulance, various Carbon County fire departments, and ambulances from Northampton, Lehigh and Luzerne County were dispatched to the scene.

Several municipalities put snow parking restrictions in place, including Weatherly and Lansford.

Sean Brown, PennDOT spokesman, said several commercial bans were in place on various trucks and commercial vehicles on Interstates 80 and 78, adding that there’s been a speed limit restriction on 80 and 380 since Sunday.

“We have our full complement of plows out on the roadway. They’ll be out for the entirety of the storm,” Brown said.

“We ask motorists if they have to travel, be aware that conditions over time might get worse, so be safe if you’re driving, and avoid driving if at all possible.”

Richards said Tuesday figures to be mostly sunny, with a high of 37, while Wednesday will be partly sunny with a high of 38.

“Over the next week to week-and-a-half, things look fairly quiet in terms of any major winter storms,” he said. “As of now, things look generally quiet.”