A big, big snowstorm is on its way. Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg gives us a time frame on when we'll see the flakes flying. "It's going to start tomorrow afternoon around 3 or 4 o'clock and then snow all night and exit early Thursday morning. So we're talking about a 15-to-17 hour storm but in that period it's going to snow very hard," Lundberg says. So hard, we might end up with one-to-two feet of snow by the time things settle down Thursday morning.
PennDOT says it's in a relatively good position to respond to the forecasted winter weather. While PennDOT fell short on its hiring goals for the season, the department has a surplus of salt to help treat the roads thanks to last year's mild winter. As is always the case with major snowstorms, PennDOT plans to prioritize interstates, expressways and high-volume roads first.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine has the latest coronavirus numbers. "5970 are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. 1227 of them are in an intensive care unit and 672 of those patients are on a ventilator," Levine says. Pennsylvania's overall coronavirus case numbers will eclipse the half-million mark when today's report is released. Levine hopes those numbers are brought into check soon now that vaccines are being administered.
The East Penn School District is shifting to fully remote learning beginning tomorrow. District officials point to rising positivity rates of COVID-19 in the community and at-capacity intensive care units before making that decision. Schools within the East Penn district will switch to remote learning tomorrow and they'll stick with it until at least January 11th.
Two popular Pennsylvania waterparks are suing Gov. Tom Wolf and Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. The owners of Pirate's Cove Water Park in Butler County and Kalahari Resorts in Monroe County say state officials have arbitrarily shut down their businesses. Both say they have complied with CDC guidelines and there is no proof of the coronavirus being spread through the use of shared recreational water. The say that while their businesses have been forced to close, other businesses where person-to-person contact is greater, like hardware stores and malls, are allowed to remain open.
New Jersey is administering its first dose of COVID-19 vaccines this morning. Gov. Phil Murphy and Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli will be in Newark at University Hospital to see the first front line workers get the shot. The state got more than 75,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will go to health care workers and nursing home residents and staff.
New Jersey Monday recorded its highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since the middle of May. Hospitals have more than 3600 coronavirus cases, with more than 700 in intensive care units. New Jersey reported 4805 new coronavirus infections and 25 new deaths Monday.
New Jerseyans will probably be celebrating the new year at home according to Gov. Phil Murphy. He says he's not expecting to lift the state's curfew on indoor bars and restaurants, which is in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The governor put the rules in place last month, stopping indoor service throughout the state by 10 o'clock. Monday, Murphy said he didn't want to burst people's bubbles, but he just doesn't see anything changing by New Year's Eve.
Pennsylvania's Electoral College met in Harrisburg Monday to officially count their votes and give the commonwealth's crucial 20 electoral votes to Joe Biden. At the conclusion of the hour-plus meeting, Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar thanked the electors for their work. "Thank you to all of you and your efforts to carry out the will of the voters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and effectuate the majesty of our democracy in the beautiful words of President George H.W. Bush," Boockvar said. very state's Electoral College met Monday and ended up giving Joe Biden 306 electoral votes, 36 more than needed to win the presidency. A joint session of Congress will convene January 6th where the electoral votes will be officially counted one final time.
One person is hospitalized after a Monday afternoon fire in Bethlehem. Firefighters were called to Bishopthorpe Street around 5 o'clock Monday afternoon. Two people were rescued from the upper floor of the home. One of them was taken to the hospital. Investigators have yet to determine what started the fire.
Three children are dead after a dump truck struck a horse-and-buggy in Lancaster County. The accident happened Monday morning in Little Britain Township. State Police say a buggy carrying seven juveniles failed to stop at an intersection and was hit by a trash truck. Three of those children were declared dead at the scene and the other four were taken to the hospital.
New Jersey lawmakers are advancing marijuana legislation. Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on a package of bills sent them onto the Senate. The package of amended bills covers launching a cannabis industry, another that would lessen punishments for possessing magic mushrooms and a third allowing investors to put money into licenses for minorities, women and disabled veterans. The legislation is set for final approval later this week with one lawmaker saying there won't be any further changes.
Fresh off his first win of his NFL career, quarterback Jalen Hurts is preparing for his second start. Head coach Doug Pederson said Monday he'll stick with Hurts to lead the Eagles offense this Sunday when they play Arizona. Hurts threw for 167 yards and ran for 106 in the Eagles' 24-21 win over the Saints Sunday.