A frontal boundary was draped from the southern Mid Atlantic region southwestward to the northern Gulf of Mexico. An area of low pressure developed along this front across the lower Mississippi Valley late in the day on the 27th. The storm system then moved northeastward and tracked near the Ohio River Valley during the morning of the 28th. As the storm continued to track northeastward, it strengthened as it moved into New England during the early evening hours of the 28th. An associated cold front then swept across the Mid Atlantic region during the early evening hours of the 28th.
A cold air mass ahead of the system allowed for snow to overspread the state generally from southwest to northeast during the 27th. However, there was a break for a time for many areas, then the snow began again during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 27th and fell moderate at times. As milder air then worked in, especially above the surface, the snow mixed with and changed to sleet and freezing rain during the night of the 27th. Enough warming occurred during the 28th, which allowed the wintry mix to change over to plain rain before ending from southeast to northwest. The icing held on the longest across the Pocono region as the low-level cold air remained entrenched across this area longer. The combination of frozen and freezing precipitation coupled with the cold air, created a high impact event and produced very slippery road conditions.
A tow truck driver lost control on an icy Route 73 in Earl Township (Berks County) at about 12:35 PM EST on the 28th. The truck careened town a hill on Route 73, then struck a guardrail, mailbox and another vehicle and both vehicles slammed into a house. The driver of the tow truck was seriously injured. The house suffered so much damage that it was condemned by the township. Fire police closed Route 73 for several hours. In another accident, the operator of a tractor with a plow was injured about 1:30 PM on the 28th when it collided with another vehicle in the 700 block of Mohrsville Road in Perry Township (Berks County). There was one serious injury. Several other vehicle accidents occurred around Berks County on the 28th with the bulk of them involved vehicles sliding off the roads into ditches or trees. Some accidents involved minor injuries although an accident in Wyomissing near the foot of the Buttonwood Street Bridge at 9:30 AM EST on the 28th featured a car that flipped over and the driver had to be rescued. The driver suffered a head injury. All Berks County school districts were closed on the 28th because of the winter storm. Across Lehigh County, the winter storm created havoc on the roads late on the 27th and 28th. Schools cancelled classes on the 28th and some businesses delayed the start of the work day.
The winter storm produced very hazardous conditions on the roadways and every Carbon County school district was closed. Numerous minor accidents were reported throughout the area, but no major accidents were reported. A jack-knifed tractor-trailer caused some delays on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike shortly after 9:00 AM EST on the 28th. PPL reported about 185 outages. The two southbound lanes of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroe County was closed for several hours during the morning hours of the 28th after a tractor-trailer jackknifed on the snow covered roadway and crashed into the center median barricade. The crash occurred around 8:30 AM EST and there were no injuries reported. As a side note, numerous accidents with minor injuries were reported on the 31st due to icy patches, which followed the winter storm. Several minor car crashes were reported in Northampton County on the 28th due to icy conditions.
Numerous Montgomery County schools were closed on the 28th because of the winter storm. Private and parochial schools were also closed. Numerous accidents were reported across Montgomery County due to the snow and icy roadways, and the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike experienced several vehicles accidents.
The accumulated snowfall followed by a change to some ice then rain on the 27th and 28th produced slippery conditions in Philadelphia County. The only significant traffic mishap occurred on the Vine Street Expressway around 4:30 AM EST on the 28th when a jackknifed tractor-trailer forced the closure of the westbound lanes. All the lanes were reopened by 7:30 AM EST. Some arrival flights into the Philadelphia International Airport were delayed some 90 minutes. SEPTA reported only minor problems due to the weather conditions. All Philadelphia public and parochial schools were closed, as were more than 800 other schools in the immediate region. Primos Elementary School and 15 other school districts in Delaware County closed on the 28th due to the mixed bag of precipitation. Schools were closed on the 28th and government offices opened late in Chester County. The snow topped by an icy glazed produced hazardous conditions getting out of driveways and across sidewalks. Some accidents were reported, however they were minor.
Some snowfall totals included; 6.0 inches in Lehighton (Carbon County), 5.0 inches in Berlinsville (Northampton County), 4.6 inches in Schnecksville (Lehigh County), 4.5 inches in Slatington (Lehigh County), 4.4 inches in Bethlehem (Northampton County), 4.3 inches in Honey Brook (Chester County), 4.2 inches 1.1 miles north-northwest of Jim Thorpe (Carbon County), 4.1 inches in Phoenixville (Chester County), 4.1 inches in Longswamp (Berks County), 4.0 inches in Albrightsville (Carbon County), 4.0 inches in Blue Marsh (Berks County), 4.0 inches in Reading (Berks County), 4.0 inches in Perkasie (Bucks County), 4.0 inches in Hatfield (Montgomery County), 3.8 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport near Allentown (Lehigh County), 3.5 inches in Glenmoore (Chester County), 3.4 inches in Springtown (Bucks County), 3.1 inches in Palm (Montgomery County), 3.0 inches in Tobyhanna (Monroe County), 2.9 inches in Martins Creek (Northampton County), 2.8 inches in Wynnewood (Montgomery County), 2.8 inches 2.0 miles north-northeast of Pottstown (Montgomery County), 2.7 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport (Philadelphia County), 2.4 inches in Clifton Heights (Delaware County), 2.4 inches in Exton (Chester County), 2.3 inches in Furlong (Bucks County), 2.3 inches in Drexel Hill (Delaware County) and 2.0 inches in Doylestown (Bucks County).
Some ice accumulation reports included; 0.20 of an inch in Reading (Berks County), 0.20 of an inch in Downingtown (Chester County), 0.20 of an inch in Wynnewood (Montgomery County), 0.15 of an inch in Drexel Hill (Delaware County), 0.10 of an inch in Bensalem (Bucks County) and 0.10 of an inch in Martins Creek (Northampton County).

Winter Storm in MONROE, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 22:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 15:45:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in CARBON, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 22:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 15:45:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in NORTHAMPTON, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 22:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 14:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in LEHIGH, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 22:30:00 to 28-JAN-09 14:30:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in BERKS, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 22:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 14:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in BUCKS, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 21:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in MONTGOMERY, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 21:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 12:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 17:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 11:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in DELAWARE, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 05:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 10:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Winter Storm in PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
From 27-JAN-09 05:00:00 to 28-JAN-09 10:00:00 (EST-5)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper