Winter Storm Fern caused a rare avalanche in one Pennsylvania county, forcing the closure of a road
The “large snow slide” blocked both driving lanes, rendering the road impassable
Officials later confirmed that the road had been cleared and reopened to traffic
Extreme winter weather during Winter Storm Fern caused a rare avalanche in Pennsylvania, forcing the closure of a road in Luzerne County.
On Sunday, Jan. 25, around 2:30 p.m., authorities were alerted to a reported avalanche blocking Coxton Road in the northeastern Pennsylvania county, Duryea Fire and Police said in a Facebook post.
The Duryea Fire Police responded to the scene, where it was discovered that “a large snow slide,” also known as an avalanche, occurred approximately 1.5 miles from the Lackawanna County border and blocked both driving lanes.
This type of severe snow slide is rare in Pennsylvania, according to Fox29. Twelve to 16 inches of snow accumulation was recorded in Luzerne County, per the outlet.
No vehicles were damaged by the avalanche, though authorities confirmed that conditions left the road “impassable.” Drivers were urged to stay away from the area unless “absolutely necessary,” according to a Duryea Fire and Police Facebook post.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation dispatched a crew shortly after and cleared the road, making it passable, though Duryea Fire and Police noted that much of the road was still “very narrow” due to “snow drifts accumulated on either side.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation issued a warning after the snow slides, reminding residents that snowy, slushy, or ice-covered roadways caused 8,329 crashes, 29 fatalities and 2,959 injuries last winter.
“Eleven of the people who died weren’t wearing a seat belt, and 17 of the fatalities were in crashes where a driver was going too fast for conditions and drove out of their lane,” the warning read.
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Winter Storm Fern has brought dangerously cold temperatures, snow, and ice to huge swaths of the U.S. Hundreds of thousands remain without power, and at the time of publication, at least 30 deaths in the U.S. had been attributed to the storm so far, according to the Associated Press.
