After dumping up to a foot of snow, Fern leaves behind sleet and Monday closures

Winter Storm Fern entered the region late Saturday night and blanketed Lebanon County with a few inches of light, powdery, and dry snow by daybreak, before picking up intensity and accumulating to about a foot in much of the county by noon Sunday.

The afternoon saw Fern transition to sleet, at first in spurts but then in a sustained “slizzard” as the ice pelted the fresh powder, compacting the snow and making removal a bit more difficult.

Lebanon County sat at the edge of a thermal gradient roughly following the Appalachians. North of the county, snow remained falling into the evening. Here and points south, it was sleet, despite the still frigid temperatures, although the possibility remains for another inch or two before the system completely exits the region.

The National Weather Service in State College is forecasting an overnight low Sunday of 18, with extreme low temperatures to follow the next few days, reaching a nadir Thursday with a daytime high near 18 and an overnight low around zero.

Already Lebanon County and the City of Lebanon had announced closures of their offices on Monday, as did local school districts. Annville-Cleona School District, Cornwall-Lebanon School District, Eastern Lebanon County School District, Northern Lebanon School District, and Palmyra Area School District are all closed Monday. Harrisburg Area Community College, Lebanon Valley College, New Covenant Christian School, Lebanon County Career & Technology Center, and Our Lady of the Cross are also closed.

Also closed: Annville Free Library, Lebanon Community Library, Matthews Public Library, Myerstown Community Library, and Palmyra Public Library.

As of Sunday evening, Lebanon Transit planned to offer service starting at 12 p.m. Monday. Buses will depart from the Transfer Station at the first scheduled time point at or after 12 p.m. and will then continue along their regularly scheduled routes. Routes 10, 88, and both Harrisburg A and B remain cancelled all day. Shared Ride will be limited to dialysis and essential medical and work trips only.

Find a ton more reader-submitted photos of this weekend’s snow storm on the LebTown Facebook page.