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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER
Bethlehem Catasauqua East Penn Northampton Northwestern Parkland Salisbury Whitehall-Coplay

Prepping for snow

Published January 19. 2022 10:27AM
by BILL LEINER JR. Special to The Press

Recent brutally cold weather and a forecasted Jan. 16-17 snowstorm were part of the breakfast conversation and planning for families at Northampton Diner and Family Restaurant, Main Street and Laubach Avenue, Jan. 16. The diner was toasty warm for patrons to come out of the cold and enjoy some food while developing storm mitigation plans.

Elvin Correa and his family - Jaden, Cenia Mendoza, Jacob Alvarado and Ashley Arroyo, all from Northampton - were in snowstorm planning discussion mode. Correa and Arroyo were discussing how to use de-icer salt on their pavements.

Jacob, wearing his knitted Eagles hat, was more interested in the Eagles playoff game later that day. Any salt, if he considered it at all, might have been the salt he would use on french fries during the football game.

Arroyo told Correa the de-icer salt needs to be placed on the pavements before the snowfall. Correa noted his belief that the salt should be placed on top of the snow after the snow ceases. They clearly did not agree.

This prompted them to ask a reporter for The Press to weigh in on the issue. The reporter said he would run an experiment that would include four pavement sections.

The first pavement section would have the salt placed on it before the snow fell. The second pavement section would have the salt placed on top of the snow after the snowfall ended. The third pavement section would have pepper applied on top of the snow. The fourth pavement section would have Tabasco sauce poured on top of the snow. The next morning, the four pavements would be evaluated for its treatment effectiveness. The suggestion was greeted with chuckles and an apparent reluctance to run the experiment.

At another table, Corey Osborne, who resides in Virginia, was in town visiting his family. Joining him for breakfast were Michelle Stillo and Rob Baehner, both of Catasauqua. All three commented on the importance of dressing in layers to combat the arctic temperatures experienced in recent days.

Stillo and Baehner had already decided that Osborne would be shoveling the snow.

PRESS PHOTOS BY BILL LEINER JR. Northampton Diner and Family Restaurant, Main Street and Laubach Avenue, has its sidewalks shoveled and cleared, seen from just beyond the borough's holiday tree, after a storm that included snow, rain and sleet hit the area Jan. 16-17.
From left, Corey Osborne, of Virginia, and Michelle Stillo and Rob Baehner, both of Catasauqua, eat a hardy breakfast at the Northampton restaurant in anticipation of the upcoming snowstorm. Osborne was lined up to shovel the snow.
PRESS PHOTO BY BILL LEINER JR. From left, Elvin Correa, Jaden, Cenia Mendoza, Jacob Alvarado and Ashley Arroyo gather at Northampton Diner and Family Restaurant, Main Street and Laubach Avenue, Jan. 16 and plan how they will cope with the cold air and snowstorm, which hit the area Jan. 16-17.