Though not a certainty, the region could see its first significant snowfall of the season Wednesday into Thursday.

If all falls into place, the area could see anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow, according to Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.

A small precursor of things to come took place Monday morning, as PennDOT temporarily implemented speed limit restrictions on interstates in Carbon and Monroe counties due to the winter storm.

Jim Thorpe School District and Carbon Career & Technical Institute changed from a delay to a flexible instruction day. Weatherly Area School District was closed, while Panther Valley School District and Tamaqua Area School District were on a two-hour delay.

PennDOT urged motorists to avoid unnecessary travel, but those who must head out saw speed limits reduced to 45 mph on Interstate 80 in Carbon and Monroe counties and Interstate 380 in Monroe County.

Commercial vehicles must stay in the right lane while the speed restrictions are in place on these roads.

Although PennDOT crews have been treating roadways, the department’s primary goal is to keep roads passable, not completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT will continue to treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear.

PennDOT stressed to be cautious on secondary roads.

Kines said that while there were probably some spots that picked up a half-inch to an inch of snow, conditions were expected to improve this afternoon.

He said there could be some sunshine on Tuesday, as temperatures could make a run at 40, before dropping back into the mid-20s Tuesday night.

Preparing for a storm

As far as the next storm is concerned, Kines said it looks like the precipitation gets in here probably about Wednesday morning, and continues into Wednesday night.

He said it will probably come in as snow, and then change over to sleet and maybe freezing rain, and then eventually rain and drizzle.

In terms of snowfall accumulation?

“As a first guess, probably 3 to 6 inches; (though) 3 inches is probably more likely than the 6,” Kines said. “I think 6 would occur if the snow hangs on longer than anticipated.”

Kines cautioned such conditions could make traveling dangerous.

“Regardless if you got to be out driving on Wednesday, I would expect poor driving conditions,” he said.

Kines said we’re looking at the lower 30s for highs on Wednesday, though the temperature probably won’t drop a whole lot Wednesday night and likely stay in the lower 30s.

“If by chance temperatures would hover right around 32, probably freezing rain as well,” he said. “Right now, we anticipate it would be a short duration, and not have a major impact.”

Regardless of how much precipitation, Kines said it’s been overdue.

“Even if we did happen to get 3-6 inches, nobody can complain; we’ve been living the good life lately,” he said. “We’ve certainly seen a lot worse.”

Kines said Wednesday’s high figures to be in the low to mid-30s.

After the system leaves, he said Thursday should be mainly dry, with temperatures back up to close to 40.

Friday could see some sunshine, with highs in the mid to upper 30s, Kines said.

“Probably down the road, one thing we got to watch out for if we do get any snow (on Wednesday), Thursday night looks like temperatures (could go) below freezing,” he said. “So, if there’s any slush still left over, that could be a problem; it could freeze.”

Kines suggested it may be best to hold off on shoveling initially.

“If you do have to do any shoveling, do it sometime Thursday,” he said. “Get it to where you want it to be, and you’ll be fine.”