Your TOP 3 favorite snowstorms.

[Heisy]

I'm starting to get that winter excitement, so out of tonight's boredom thought I'd make a thread about my top 3 favorite snowstorms growing up in Philadelphia (I'm 27 years old). I've been on weather forums since the 2000-01 season, it has always been fun tracking the storms with other snow nut jobs like me. 

 

This isn't a list of Philadelphia's top snowstorms, this is a list of your personal favorites, for whatever reason that may be.

 

(From least to most favorite)

 

3) January 26-27 2011: The best part of this storm was that it was long duration & that it had some surprises to it that weren't forecasted even 24 hours out. I was nervous heading into this one because while there was some hype, there was some uncertainty if the temps would crash fast enough to get good accumulation. The main thump of the storm was supposed to hit in the evening. I woke up that morning, looked out the window, and to my surprise saw 3-4" of snow on the ground. No one had seen that part of the storm coming. I guess it was associated with the warm front out ahead of the shortwave. It eventually turned to drizzle. Once the main batch came in around 6-7 pm it was off to the races. I think it was probably the heaviest snow I had ever seen in my life. I got around 16-18" in NE Philly. 

 

2) April Fools 97: I remember going to school in the pouring rain. Before I had left for school I remember Action News meteorologist had said that the rain would change to snow later in the day, but we'd only get around 1-2 inches. I was already a weather geek by that time and I remember just glancing out the window all day hoping it would change to snow. To my excitement it did. It was a beautiful wet snow, think we got 8-10".

 

1) February 3-4 1995: I was only 8 years old at the time. I think I have this storm to thank for my love of snow. Surprisingly this was the one and only time I have ever experienced thundersnow (just bad luck I guess). Looking back at maps of this storm it seems like Philly jackpotted. I was woken up by thundersnow in the pre dawn hours. I snuck out of bed and just watched out the window. I was only 8 so I'm not 100% sure there was thundersnow, I just somehow have that memory implanted in me. If someone could verify that there was t-snow around Philly during this storm tha twould be cool. Watching the snow fall as a kid during this storm I got that feeling some of you may understand of total calmness that snowstorms bring. We got over a foot, and the snow ended pretty quickly, but it was an awesome storm while it lasted. 

[famartin]

1) February 3-4 1995: I was only 8 years old at the time. I think I have this storm to thank for my love of snow. Surprisingly this was the one and only time I have ever experienced thundersnow (just bad luck I guess). Looking back at maps of this storm it seems like Philly jackpotted. I was woken up by thundersnow in the pre dawn hours. I snuck out of bed and just watched out the window. I was only 8 so I'm not 100% sure there was thundersnow, I just somehow have that memory implanted in me. If someone could verify that there was t-snow around Philly during this storm tha twould be cool. Watching the snow fall as a kid during this storm I got that feeling some of you may understand of total calmness that snowstorms bring. We got over a foot, and the snow ended pretty quickly, but it was an awesome storm while it lasted. 

 

[famartin]

I'm starting to get that winter excitement, so out of tonight's boredom thought I'd make a thread about my top 3 favorite snowstorms growing up in Philadelphia (I'm 27 years old). I've been on weather forums since the 2000-01 season, it has always been fun tracking the storms with other snow nut jobs like me. 

 

This isn't a list of Philadelphia's top snowstorms, this is a list of your personal favorites, for whatever reason that may be.

 

(From least to most favorite)

 

3) January 26-27 2011: The best part of this storm was that it was long duration & that it had some surprises to it that weren't forecasted even 24 hours out. I was nervous heading into this one because while there was some hype, there was some uncertainty if the temps would crash fast enough to get good accumulation. The main thump of the storm was supposed to hit in the evening. I woke up that morning, looked out the window, and to my surprise saw 3-4" of snow on the ground. No one had seen that part of the storm coming. I guess it was associated with the warm front out ahead of the shortwave. It eventually turned to drizzle. Once the main batch came in around 6-7 pm it was off to the races. I think it was probably the heaviest snow I had ever seen in my life. I got around 16-18" in NE Philly. 

 

2) April Fools 97: I remember going to school in the pouring rain. Before I had left for school I remember Action News meteorologist had said that the rain would change to snow later in the day, but we'd only get around 1-2 inches. I was already a weather geek by that time and I remember just glancing out the window all day hoping it would change to snow. To my excitement it did. It was a beautiful wet snow, think we got 8-10".

 

1) February 3-4 1995: I was only 8 years old at the time. I think I have this storm to thank for my love of snow. Surprisingly this was the one and only time I have ever experienced thundersnow (just bad luck I guess). Looking back at maps of this storm it seems like Philly jackpotted. I was woken up by thundersnow in the pre dawn hours. I snuck out of bed and just watched out the window. I was only 8 so I'm not 100% sure there was thundersnow, I just somehow have that memory implanted in me. If someone could verify that there was t-snow around Philly during this storm tha twould be cool. Watching the snow fall as a kid during this storm I got that feeling some of you may understand of total calmness that snowstorms bring. We got over a foot, and the snow ended pretty quickly, but it was an awesome storm while it lasted.

I like your list.  If I had been around for that Jan 2011 storm (or better yet, the Feb 10 2010 storm), it would surely have been on my list.

 

However, I would have to find a way to fit the Blizzard of 96 on there.  I guess for me I'd go 96, 95, 97.  lol  Though 93 has to be on there too.  So maybe 96, 95, 93.  Its hard.  I actually really liked the March 99 storm even though it wasn't a whopper.  And they weren't snow, but its hard to ignore the ice storm of early Jan 94. 

[jwilson]

3. Winter of 2009-10 - It is hard for me to separate any of these storms from each other, so I'm just lumping all three of them together.  Each event, for me, had its positives and negatives.  The December event was memorable for being pretty unusual for mid-December, and it really made the atmosphere for the Christmas season, which is my favorite time of year (and always better when the white stuff is involved).  However, the snowfall IMBY was somewhat unremarkable; we ended up with less than half of the official measurement as made in PHL despite being only 20 miles away.

 

Likewise, both February events saw tight gradients and intense banding.  The latter of the February events has to be my winner, largely because it resulted in the largest backyard total for the year at 23"; however, the event itself was essentially two broken-up snowfalls--a 7" inch snowfall in the early morning/overnight hours, followed by a break, and then the remaining 16" fell during late afternoon and night.  This storm loses some points for me for this reason.  The first February event we did not get close to Philly's official totals.  Generally speaking, most of the major bands missed my locale in all these events.

 

2. PDII (February 2003) - This storm hit as I was getting older and really began following winter storms in a more intensive manner, although my fascination was fairly light compared to present-day.  I remember the lead up to the storm as very mild mannered across the news networks, even up to about 24 hours out.  One of the reasons this is my #2 is because of how it overperformed in a sense.  Snowfall totals continued to rise as we got closer to the event, and for me that always beats the more numerous instances where totals are decreased instead.  This is one of only two storms where I can remember us hitting the two foot mark locally (the second storm is coming up as my #1).  I think the only negative thing I can say about this storm is the fact that it fell mostly during a holiday weekend.  Although we still got a day or two off from school, I think, its impact was minimized by falling over President's Day weekend.

 

1. Blizzard of '96 - Still the big boy on the block in terms of Philly snowfalls, and still the winner in my book.  Even though I was nine at the time and could not really appreciate the event in all its glory, an entire week off from school for snow is just about the best holiday a kid could receive.  This storm brings about a lot of nostalgia for me for various reasons, so even if one day it is dislodged from the top spot in Philadelphia snowstorms, it may remain #1 for me forever.  Quite easily the biggest snowstorm I have experienced individually as our totals approached 30".  I would not be surprised if we never exceeded that number locally for the rest of my life.  Although the storm itself was not as intense as the more recent events, I do remember a more prolonged event and in many ways that is more appealing to me.  Not only that but the larger totals expanded over a larger area, and that always beats a tight gradient event where higher snowfalls rely more on localized banding.

[Heisy]

Hey Ray, thanks for shattering my childhood memories. Maybe it was a plane or a gust of wind that woke me up, I was living in Lower Moreland, PA as a kid....so I guess it wasn't thundersnow, but I do remember seeing the heavy snowfall. Sometimes our brain implants memories of things that didn't actually happen. 

 

You also know you're a snow geek when you remember being more depressed after March 4th than when your girlfriends break up with you lol. 

[famartin]

Hey Ray, thanks for shattering my childhood memories. Maybe it was a plane or a gust of wind that woke me up, I was living in Lower Moreland, PA as a kid....so I guess it wasn't thundersnow, but I do remember seeing the heavy snowfall. Sometimes our brain implants memories of things that didn't actually happen. 

 

You also know you're a snow geek when you remember being more depressed after March 4th than when your girlfriends break up with you lol. 

Actually I was supporting your claim, you wanted to know if there was thundersnow reported in the area...

[Heisy]

Actually I was supporting your claim, you wanted to know if there was thundersnow reported in the area...

 

Yeah, unfortunately Willow Grove didn't report it seems so maybe I was dreaming. 

[famartin]

Yeah, unfortunately Willow Grove didn't report it seems so maybe I was dreaming. 

Not necessarily, thunder snow isn't the easiest thing to catch so they might've missed it.  These were the days before lightning networks.

[iceman56]

Christmas Eve of '66 - thundersnow, over a foot with extensive drifting

 

Feb 78 (not sure of date) - 18" with extensive drifting, stuck in a 4 wheel drive truck all day

 

Jan 96 - 31" and then the following melt with a refreeze leaving a foot of concrete on the ground that stayed around seemingly forever

[yak]

Hmm...

 

1.  Feb 11, 1983 in Philly- set all time Philly record at that time.  Got me out of college exam I was dreading.

 

2.  Blizzard of '96 in Reading- 34 inches followed to by two smaller storms in the next week (following by basement flooding that I could have done without...).

 

3.  Unnamed and forgotten overnight snowstorm in Millersville in 1987(?).  Was working overnight as a dorm security guard and a few inches of snow were predicted.  By the time I started at midnight, the forecast was upped to 6 inches.  After a night full of the most vivid and persistent thundersnow I've ever seen, I walked outside to 2 feet of waist deep snow.  Some parts of York Co. had over 30 inches in about an 8 hour period.

[famartin]

Hmm...

 

1.  Feb 11, 1983 in Philly- set all time Philly record at that time.  Got me out of college exam I was dreading.

 

2.  Blizzard of '96 in Reading- 34 inches followed to by two smaller storms in the next week (following by basement flooding that I could have done without...).

 

3.  Unnamed and forgotten overnight snowstorm in Millersville in 1987(?).  Was working overnight as a dorm security guard and a few inches of snow were predicted.  By the time I started at midnight, the forecast was upped to 6 inches.  After a night full of the most vivid and persistent thundersnow I've ever seen, I walked outside to 2 feet of waist deep snow.  Some parts of York Co. had over 30 inches in about an 8 hour period.

Sounds like you are thinking of February 23, 1987...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_1987_nor%27easter

http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/cmb/images/snow/nesis/19870222-19870223-1.46.jpg

[ORH_wxman]

Not necessarily, thunder snow isn't the easiest thing to catch so they might've missed it.  These were the days before lightning networks.

 

 

I recall waking up early morning on Feb 4th and watching the weather channel and they had said there were multiple reports of thundersnow in the Philly area. Probably spotters calling in about it in addition to any obs that may have caught it. But I do recall them going out of their way to mention thundersnow reports there.

[greg ralls]

This is pretty easy for me.

 

1. Blizzard of 1996 - Loved everything about it.

2. February 11-12, 1983 - I was 14 and this one still brings back great memories of being a teenager.

3. February 5-6, 2010 - loved the one a few days later, too, but this one was more impressive and brought more snow to my backyard.

[NJwinter23]

1) Blizz 96 - I was 8 but remember vivid details. The town over from me measured around 30". Out of school for 4 days only to return friday for an early dismissal on the next snow to rain event. Though my earliest memories date back to the superstorm, the ice storms in 94 winter, and that Feb 95 storm,..its the 95-96 winter that really sparked my interest in the weather.

 

2) Boxing Day 2010 - This is actually a close 2nd for me. I have never seen a combination of wind and heavy snow like that in my life. Couldnt make out the neighbors house for multiple hours with 40-60 mph wind gusts and 2-3"/hr rates...a crippling 25 inches in a 12 hour window the day after Christmas...The Christmas Eve miracle of the storm making a big come back on the models inside 48 hrs just adds to the legend. 

 

3) I cant decide between 1/25/00, 12/30/00, PD2 or 1/22/05

[Snow_Miser]

1) January 27, 2011- incredible overperforming event. The first "part" of the storm gave several inches of snow when it was forecasted to give minimal snow. The second part of the storm of course was incredible, with insane banding and thundersnow. 

 

2) February 10 2010- Another incredible storm with incredible rates. Watching the rain/snow line crash S and E on the radar was awesome as the system deepened.

 

3) February 2003 (PDII)- I was seven, but I remember this storm. I remember that we got our snow blower because of this storm. 

[JCT777]

This is pretty easy for me.

 

1. Blizzard of 1996 - Loved everything about it.

2. February 11-12, 1983 - I was 14 and this one still brings back great memories of being a teenager.

3. February 5-6, 2010 - loved the one a few days later, too, but this one was more impressive and brought more snow to my backyard.

 

You're #2 is my #1...and I was 2 weeks away from my 14th birthday at the time.  Pretty cool.

 

Here's my full list:

 

1. Feb 11-12, 1983...What a great storm.  22" of snow where I was living in Bucks County.  Tremendous snow rates in the afternoon and evening of the 11th, with a flash of lightning and crack of thunder late in the afternoon.  Loved that radio and TV news kept upping the amounts all day (started with a forecast of 8" to 12" on the morning of the 11th, then kept bumping them up throughout the day).

 

2. PDS II in 2003...First major snowstorm that I followed on the weather message boards (Wright Weather and TWC boards at that time), and that made it a lot of fun to track and watch unfold.  24" of snow with a really nice 2-hour snow blitz to end the storm.

 

3. Feb 9-10, 2010...In the farther northern burbs, this was the better of the back-to-back early Feb storms in the epic winter of 2009-10. Close to 20" fell, and the piles of snow on the sides of my driveway from this storm on top of the one a few days earlier (15.5" from the earlier storm) looked like something you'd see after a huge lake-effect event.

 

Honorable mention to Feb 5, 2001...12" of snow in 7 hours during a day when I left for work with a forecast of rain and mixed precip ending as up to 1" of snow.  By 9:30 AM it was snowing hard and 7 hours later a foot of snow was on the ground.

[Boch23]

I would say in no particular order:

 

Boxing Day 2010: Remember telling my family on Christmas that we were getting a big storm and nobody believed me and thought we would just get snow showers.

 

Jan 26-27 2011 Snowbomb: I remember going to bed expecting like 4-8 inches if the stars aligned correctly. A couple people were mentioning the early morning event but i didn't take it seriously. Woke up to 4.5 inches and heavy snow. Later that night I had to walk to a neighbors house. On the way over it was raining. When I came out of the house it was heavy sleet and by the time i got home heavy snow was falling. Basically a 40 min time span. It was also the first time I've actually experienced thunder snow. Saw 4 flashes and 3 rumbles total. 3+ inch snow fall rates was pretty amazing. The radar loop for that storm is my favorite:

 

 

 

 

PDII 2003: I was up in Wilke Barre Scranton that weekend for hockey. Brutally cold prior to the storm. It was 3 out when we got up there in the morning. That night warnings went up for 4-8...by morning it was 10-15 and by the evening of the storm it was 1-2 feet with locally higher amounts. Riding out the storm in a hotel with my hockey team was pretty epic.

 

 

 

 

[uncle W]

because I'm old my favorite is February 4th 1961...the Lindsay storm on February 9th 1969...January 20th 1978...February 61 had 20" in Brooklyn on top of 9" from the storms in January...1/15/61 to 2/4/61 is the greatest winter period I experienced...The cold thrumps any other snowy period...February 1969 was supposed to be mostly rain but surprise surprise...January 1978 was supposed to change to rain like the two previous storms that week...It finally did mix with sleet after 13" fell...

 

[Absolute Humidity]

That Jan 26-27 snow bomb was quite impressive. Never in my life did I see so much lightning with heavy sleet falling early that evening in Somerset Co. When leaving work. I arrived home in time to see a mix of sleet and rain change over to an intense heavy wet snow that measured a total of 17.3"

But that is not in my top 3.

Jan 1996 - 28.5" IMBY (actually measured 33" there but the front was less).

Boxing Day 2010 - 25" snow from what the Euro was depicting as a non event just the day before. Model madness made this storm tastier.

Jan 2005 - The mega clipper dumped upwards of 20" snow. Was forecasted for half that.

[chubbs]

Could not narrow to top 3 so put past storms in different categories:

 

Biggest snowstorms: Feb 10 1983, Jan 6 1996, Feb 5 2010. 

 

Best growing up: Dec 12, 1960, Jan 19, 1961, Dec 24, 1966.  

 

Best outperformers: Jan 22 and Feb 23 1987, Jan 25, 2000, Jan 26, 2011. 

 

 :: 

[Isotherm]

That Jan 26-27 snow bomb was quite impressive. Never in my life did I see so much lightning with heavy sleet falling early that evening in Somerset Co. When leaving work. I arrived home in time to see a mix of sleet and rain change over to an intense heavy wet snow that measured a total of 17.3"

But that is not in my top 3.

Jan 1996 - 28.5" IMBY (actually measured 33" there but the front was less).

Boxing Day 2010 - 25" snow from what the Euro was depicting as a non event just the day before. Model madness made this storm tastier.

Jan 2005 - The mega clipper dumped upwards of 20" snow. Was forecasted for half that.

 

 

All great events. I was in Villanova PA for Jan 26-27, but I remember seeing flashes / hearing thunder for that event.

 

Too young to remember Jan 1996, which was supposedly a 30" event for my town. So my top 3 would be:

 

1) Boxing Day blizzard, 2010. 30-35dbz snow for several hours, incredible rates, plus strong winds. Finished with 25" here as well. Cars stranded with helicopter rescues on nearby highways. The fact that is occurred around Christmas is icing on the cake, and was basically a surprise.

 

2) PD II, Feb 2003. 2 feet exactly here. Bitterly cold to start. Just loved the long, steady nature of this storm. Nothing "intense" about the snowfall but the depth was awesome for the aftermath.

 

3) December 19-20, 2009. Underrated storm for central/eastern Monmouth County and Ocean County. Finished in the low 20s inches here. Jackson reported up to 23.5". Heaviest bands missed your area several miles to the east.

 

Honorable mention would definitely include Jan 2005, which was 19" here.

[Absolute Humidity]

All great events. I was in Villanova PA for Jan 26-27, but I remember seeing flashes / hearing thunder for that event.

 

Too young to remember Jan 1996, which was supposedly a 30" event for my town. So my top 3 would be:

 

1) Boxing Day blizzard, 2010. 30-35dbz snow for several hours, incredible rates, plus strong winds. Finished with 25" here as well. Cars stranded with helicopter rescues on nearby highways. The fact that is occurred around Christmas is icing on the cake, and was basically a surprise.

 

2) PD II, Feb 2003. 2 feet exactly here. Bitterly cold to start. Just loved the long, steady nature of this storm. Nothing "intense" about the snowfall but the depth was awesome for the aftermath.

 

3) December 19-20, 2009. Underrated storm for central/eastern Monmouth County and Ocean County. Finished in the low 20s inches here. Jackson reported up to 23.5". Heaviest bands missed your area several miles to the east.

 

Honorable mention would definitely include Jan 2005, which was 19" here.

Yeah, December 19-20, 2009, we just missed the band here, had 16 - 18" for that one. PDII was great too but Jan 2005 had no sleet and snowed for 20 hrs straight.  

[Huffwx]

Raised in PHL CWA

 

1. Jan 96. We didn't even get the 31 like PHL did, more like 22. I was actually UPSET when we had some light sleet and Philly was still getting blasted. 

 

2. Feb 22 87-- Warm day actually did yard work Sunday afternoon. Forecast was for 4-8 and once the snow started my Dad sent me to bed (He tracked with me)concerned that we may see 4-5 in the grass and slush on the roads. He woke me up 2 hours later and it was rocking. 2-3 inches an hour for 3-4 hours was awesome. I lived literally 2 miles away from ILG and they measured 14.4-- My neighbor and I measure 14.4 sidewalk and 17 in the grass. 

 

3. Jan 22 87-- Was great because until Thursday AM was forecasted to change to rain-- 

 

Original forecast was 1-2 then rain. Wednesday, 5pm update. Still under watch. 

Mid evening update- which was rare around 8pm said 4 inches, then sleet and rain. 

Morning was 6-8 inches, possibly mixing with sleet. 

Before I left for school was 8-10, may mix. 

 

We got to school and literally just turned around and left.  By the time I got home forecast was for up to a foot.

 

As I shoveled, we had 30 minutes of mixed sleet or maybe just severely rimed-- like they'd open into snow with an outer freeze. 

 

Feb 83 would be on my list- true blizzard in ILG. However, it's listed as 14.4 inches from like 1.65 l/e. It's wrong-- lived that close. It was 17 inches. No other place on the EC had under 10-1 ratios. I refuse to enjoy that event.

[IsentropicLift]

1) Jan 96 - Most snow ever IMBY with one storm

2) Boxing Day - Because of the wild model swings and the intense winds

3) Jan 2011

 

Most regretful - PDII - Was in Daytona Beach for the race with my family that weekend.

[WxLover]

1- Jan 96 Blizzard The duration of that storm was amazing - 30 something hrs

2- Feb 83 Storm First time I witnessed Thunder Snow

3- March 93 Blizzard The size and strength unprecedented, plus one of the 1st storms that the models were pretty accurate 5-6 days in advance

[LVblizzard]

1. 1/26-1/27/11. Not the most snow I've ever seen...but Allentown was forecast to be right on the cutoff line for this storm, so I really had no clue what to expect. Fortunately we ended up under a heavy band dumping 2-3"/hr rates for a couple hours, and ended up with just under a foot.

2. 2/10/10. It just dumped snow for the entire morning and afternoon that day. Final total: 18".

3. 2/13-2/14/07. Definitely an unpopular choice, but this was the first storm I ever tracked nonstop, which is what makes it so memorable. Even though half the storm was sleet, I remember loving every second of it. Unfortunately I don't remember PDII very well since I was just 9, or else that probably would have taken this spot.

[Voyager]

1. February 11-12, 1983 - I'll never forget the 5 inch per hour rates we had for two consecutive hours up in Bethlehem, where I lived at the time with this storm. It was, and until I see something even more intense, will always be my #1 favorite snowstorm.

 

2. Blizzard of 1996 - This is my #2 storm. One of the all-time best, but didn't have the rates like 1983 did in my neck of the woods.

 

3. October 29, 2011 - The rarety of this event is what puts it in my top 3. We had 8-10 inches (in Tamaqua) on top of some beautiful fall foliage. It was rather destructive, but the beauty of the freshly fallen snow covering the orange and red leaves in the trees, as well as the historical aspect of the event, cannot be dismissed.

[chubbs]

Raised in PHL CWA

 

1. Jan 96. We didn't even get the 31 like PHL did, more like 22. I was actually UPSET when we had some light sleet and Philly was still getting blasted. 

 

2. Feb 22 87-- Warm day actually did yard work Sunday afternoon. Forecast was for 4-8 and once the snow started my Dad sent me to bed (He tracked with me)concerned that we may see 4-5 in the grass and slush on the roads. He woke me up 2 hours later and it was rocking. 2-3 inches an hour for 3-4 hours was awesome. I lived literally 2 miles away from ILG and they measured 14.4-- My neighbor and I measure 14.4 sidewalk and 17 in the grass. 

 

3. Jan 22 87-- Was great because until Thursday AM was forecasted to change to rain-- 

 

Original forecast was 1-2 then rain. Wednesday, 5pm update. Still under watch. 

Mid evening update- which was rare around 8pm said 4 inches, then sleet and rain. 

Morning was 6-8 inches, possibly mixing with sleet. 

Before I left for school was 8-10, may mix. 

 

We got to school and literally just turned around and left.  By the time I got home forecast was for up to a foot.

 

As I shoveled, we had 30 minutes of mixed sleet or maybe just severely rimed-- like they'd open into snow with an outer freeze. 

 

Feb 83 would be on my list- true blizzard in ILG. However, it's listed as 14.4 inches from like 1.65 l/e. It's wrong-- lived that close. It was 17 inches. No other place on the EC had under 10-1 ratios. I refuse to enjoy that event.

1/22/87 had terrible commuting conditions due to lack of preparation and heavy wet snow that compacted to a slick hardpack. I295 was a parking lot for hours.

[Thunder Road]

3.  Unnamed and forgotten overnight snowstorm in Millersville in 1987(?).  Was working overnight as a dorm security guard and a few inches of snow were predicted.  By the time I started at midnight, the forecast was upped to 6 inches.  After a night full of the most vivid and persistent thundersnow I've ever seen, I walked outside to 2 feet of waist deep snow.  Some parts of York Co. had over 30 inches in about an 8 hour period.

 

I did a brief write-up on this storm for Tom's blog over the summer:  http://philadelphiaweather.blogspot.com/2013/08/historical-case-study-of-february-23.html

 

Over Christmas Break I'll be doing some WRF simulations of Philly-area events, so I should have some even cooler maps (sim reflectivity, precip type, etc...) for this case by January.

[JCT777]

I did a brief write-up on this storm for Tom's blog over the summer:  http://philadelphiaweather.blogspot.com/2013/08/historical-case-study-of-february-23.html

 

Over Christmas Break I'll be doing some WRF simulations of Philly-area events, so I should have some even cooler maps (sim reflectivity, precip type, etc...) for this case by January.

 

That storm was unreal (19 inches of snow in 7 hours), and would have certainly made my top 3 if I hadn't slept through almost all of it - including the ridiculous 6 inches of snow that fell between 4 AM and 5 AM.