Delaware

Nor'easter dumps snow on Poconos, Lehigh Valley; rain in Delaware Valley

Published

2 years ago

January 7, 2024

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Nor'easter dumps snow on Poconos, Lehigh Valley; rain in Delaware Valley

Philly residents make preparations for winter storm

Philadelphia residents were out early ahead of the rain and snowy conditions stocking up on supplies.

PHILADELPHIA – In Philadelphia, shoppers were going to the grocery and hardware stores before the storm moved in Saturday. It started with flurries and snow in the early afternoon before turning into heavy rain by early evening.

“This is our first winter in Philadelphia. We needed a shovel and it’s also going to be a benefit to dig our car out later on,” said Jack Remmert.

“I saw a couple that was frantically grabbing shovels,” said Caleb Bean. “I was confused because I’ve been checking the weather, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be below freezing, and we’re also just getting rain,” said Caleb Bean.

“People went into preparation mode for the storm. They think a storm is coming and just like everything – the toilet paper days, the milk days – everyone is stocking up on shovels and salt,” said Todd Maniscalki. “I’m looking forward to snow, I hope we do get a big snow storm this year, but I just don’t think it’s going to be today.”

The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management (OEM) said the Regional Integration Center is in enhanced monitoring of the storm system, including regular check-ins with the National Weather Service Mount Holly.

“Our office held a Weather Steering Committee call with over 20 agencies yesterday to check on response and concerns,” said Jeffrey Kolakowski of Philadelphia OEM. “We are also monitoring developments for Tuesday’s storm.”

The city agencies include Police, Fire, Streets, Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, Office of Homeless Services, Managing Director’s Office, Mayor’s Office, School District of Philadelphia, Water Department, Gas Works, and partners from external agencies like SEPTA, PECO, State Police, and Southeast Regional Healthcare Coalition.

The Philadelphia Streets Department brined roads on Friday and called in dozens of crews on Saturday.

“We have a little over 90 trucks out right now who are monitoring the situation and driving the streets. They’re loaded with salt, so if they come across any icy conditions, they will treat the roads so everybody can be safe out there,” said Deputy Commissioner Richard Montanez of the Streets Department. “If anybody sees a problem out there and wants to let us know anything, please contact 311 and we will address as quickly as possible.”

Montanez said the department anticipates temperatures to rise and will scale back operations overnight.

Nor’easter dumps snow in Lehigh Valley; rain further south

The Nor’easter dumped snow in the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos, while farther south, in the Delaware Valley, it was mainly a rain event.

Farther north, in Montgomery County, what little snow made it to the ground was quickly washed away by rain.

“I like it,” Ismil Miah said. “It’s not bad, a little bit of snow, rain, chilly. It’s not that cold. I like it.”

“I wasn’t expecting more, but I was hoping for more,” Paul Diem commented. “I usually hate the snow, but I miss it now.”

Despite who received what amount of rain or snow, the road conditions were challenging for drivers. In Allentown Saturday evening, many cars got stuck because so much more snow fell there faster.

One man, Josh Severino, explained, “The road conditions are pretty bad. I don’t recommend people going out there. I helped two cars already, down there and there were, like, 10 cars stuck.”

With the system pulling away, the focus now turns to Tuesday night and Wednesday when another potential storm system is set to move in with very heavy rain and very strong, damaging winds.

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Delaware

MERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach

Published

5 hours ago

January 9, 2026

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MERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach

A dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach on Jan. 8, according to the nonprofit Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute.

The juvenile male was first seen Jan. 6, floating at sea about 2 miles off the Indian River Inlet, a MERR Facebook post said. The bloated 30-foot whale ultimately beached near a private community in the early afternoon of Jan. 8, the post said.

MERR is attempting to coordinate with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to get equipment to move the whale out of the water and onto the beach to perform a necropsy, the post said. Right now, there isn’t enough information to determine a cause of death.

Delaware saw at least three dead whales last year, in the Indian River Bay, at Delaware Seashore State Park and at Pigeon Point. The first two were humpbacks, while the Pigeon Point whale was a fin whale.

A necropsy on the Delaware Seashore whale found blunt force trauma across its back, indicating it may have been struck by a ship, MERR Director Suzanne Thurman said.

Recently, on Jan. 4, a dead fin whale was found on the bow of a ship at the Gloucester Marine Terminal in New Jersey, which is located in the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Facebook.

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Delaware

Pa. man accused of stealing more than 100 skeletons from Delco cemetery

Published

18 hours ago

January 8, 2026

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Pa. man accused of stealing more than 100 skeletons from Delco cemetery

A Pennsylvania man is accused of stealing more than 100 skeletons from a cemetery in Delaware County.

Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, is charged with abuse of corpse, criminal mischief, burglary and other related offenses, Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse revealed on Thursday, Jan. 8.

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Between November 2025 and Jan. 6, 2026, 26 mausoleums and underground burial sites had been burglarized or desecrated at Mount Moriah Cemetery, which stretches from Yeadon Borough, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia, investigators said.

As police investigated the thefts, they caught Gerlach desecrating a monument at the cemetery on Tuesday, Jan. 6, according to officials. Gerlach was taken into custody and investigators executed a search warrant at his home in Ephrata.

During the search, investigators recovered 100 human skeletons from Gerlach’s home as well as eight more human remains inside a storage locker, according to Rouse.

“Detectives walked into a horror movie come to life the other night guys,” Rouse said. “This is an unbelievable scene that no one involved – from myself to the detectives to the medical examiners that are now trying to piece together what they are looking at, quite literally – none of them have ever seen anything like this before.”

Rouse said some of the stolen skeletons are hundreds of years old.

“We are trying to figure out exactly what we are looking at,” Rouse said. “We quite simply at this juncture are not able to date and identify all of them.”

Rouse also said some of the skeletons are of infants and children.

“It is truly, in the most literal sense of the word, horrific,” Rouse said. “I grieve for those who are upset by this who are going through it who are trying to figure out if it is in fact their loved one or their child because we found remains that we believe to be months old infants among those that he had collected. Our hearts go out to every family that is impacted by this.”

Sources also told NBC10 the thefts are related to a similar case in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Investigators said they are looking at Gerlach’s online community — including his social media groups and Facebook page — to determine if people were buying, selling, or trading the remains.

Gerlach is currently in custody at the Delaware County Prison after failing to post $1 million bail. Online court records don’t list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

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