While it didn’t necessarily pack a wallop, Tuesday’s storm served as the precursor to the cold front that will be moving in starting this afternoon.

Most areas received between 4 to 6 inches of snowfall, with Jim Thorpe getting 6.8 inches, according to Maggie Samuhel, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.

“I think we saw about 4 inches that started yesterday with some light snow in the morning hours,” Samuhel said. “It really started to get heavy and pile up around noon and lasting until about 8 and then it lightened up.”

The snow and cooler temperatures presented plenty of challenges for motorists.

In Monroe County, a two-vehicle crash occurred when a tractor-trailer hit a car about 7 p.m., which led to a pole and wires being taken out in front of the Chestnuthill Diner in Brodheadsville.

Route 209 from the 209 Southbound Exit in Sciota off Route 33 to McIlhaney Road in Brodheadsville was shut down for several hours.

Lynda Messerschmidt, Monroe County Emergency Preparedness Planner, said several crashes occurred at the “typical hot spots” throughout the county, and that some vehicles got stuck going up inclines.

“It was relatively quiet, people for the most part stayed off the roads,” Messerschmidt said. “Having the ban on the tractor-trailers and keeping RVs off the road, that really helped a lot.”

Messerschmidt offered tips for residents to abide by.

“We just want to remind people to be prepared for the bitter cold that’s going to be sweeping in,” she said. “If you’re afraid of your water freezing up, keep water at low trickle, open up the doors under your vanity in your bathroom and kitchen sink to let the warm circulate to keep pipes from freezing up.”

Things weren’t quite as bad in Carbon County, according to Carbon County Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Nalesnik.

“There were no significant power outages that we are aware of,” Nalesnik said. “There were some minor vehicle accidents due to slick roadways.

“I believe the roads were well taken care of,” he said. “It’s just that with these extreme low temperatures, there’s only so much you can do.”

Nalesnik said they are also watching to see if any municipalities open up warming centers for people to stay warm, adding that he doesn’t expect them to have to open as long as there are no power outages.

It was much the same in Schuylkill County, according to John M Matz, Schuylkill County Emergency Management Agency coordinator.

Matz said that the bulk of the county received 4-6 inches of snow.

“Road conditions at this point are passable, there’s still some areas people have to be cautious,” Matz said. “There were no significant events last evening, we did have some stuck yesterday afternoon into the evening.”

Matz said there were no reports of any widespread power outages.

“Right now the sun’s out, the roads are being treated,” he said. “We have a chance to get the roads cleared before temperatures drop significantly tonight.”

Samuhel said that midafternoon into early evening is when most areas likely saw the heaviest thump of snow.

“Temperatures did drop down below zero early this morning,” she said. “We are going to see temperatures rise a little bit.”

However, Samuhel said snow squalls were expected to be coming through as part of a secondary arctic front that will result in a really strong cold front during the midday hours.

She said the line of snow squalls figures to be very heavy and result in lower visibility.

Behind this front, Samuhel said the winds are going to pick up and the temperature is going to drop dramatically, with real feel temperatures of 25 below zero by this afternoon.

She said tonight’s actual temperature will be 2 below zero, but with the wind, will feel 20 to 25 below.

Samuhel said Thursday is only expected to see a high of 13, while the wind will again make it feel like 5 to 10 below.

She said the wind should start to die down Thursday night, and Friday will see much less wind with temperatures up to about 20.

By Saturday, Samuhel said temperatures should be above freezing.

In the meantime, she offered some tips for those who have to be outside.

“The least amount of exposed skin as possible, limit your exposure, and limit your time out in the cold and bring your pets in,” Samuhel said.