Pittsburgh/Western PA Winter 2024-2025 Thread

[Burghblizz]

10 hours ago, jwilson said:

'94 I was in Philly, so I don't remember a storm of any significance then.

2020 was technically double-digits, as you all pointed out.  I forgot and double-checked my notes, and we hit 10.5" locally.  True that qualifies, it was kind of a freak thing and quite localized because of the CCB.

2018 I was in Morgantown and I didn't get anywhere near what Pittsburgh did for that event?  I don't even remember it at all.  Biggest storm I had that winter was 3" locally.

Let me add: those others storms I mentioned were all closer to two feet than simply double-digits, so I think my bar is probably a little higher than normal!

Jan 94 is worth researching, even just old YouTube videos. Epic storm. 20-30” in SW Pa with 3-4” per hour rates at its peak. Somewhat lost to history because it was 10 months after March 93, and the official total was mysteriously low (14”) compared to other reports. 

March 2018 was a nice long duration storm that kept adding on. Not super impactful though since it was March and was over probably 24 hours .

[Gordo74]

Looks like the groundhog was wrong again aside from a little stretch. Long range is looking a lot more like spring than winter.

[blackngoldrules]

Jan 94 is worth researching, even just old YouTube videos. Epic storm. 20-30” in SW Pa with 3-4” per hour rates at its peak. Somewhat lost to history because it was 10 months after March 93, and the official total was mysteriously low (14”) compared to other reports. 
March 2018 was a nice long duration storm that kept adding on. Not super impactful though since it was March and was over probably 24 hours .

The Jan. 94 storm will always be my favorite. I got 27 inches where I lived in Westmoreland County at the time. And it was mostly a daylight snowfall as well. And it was moderate to heavy for most of it. I was off school for a week. That was my senior year. I knew at the time that I'd probably never see one like that again, and so far I've been right. I'm talking the intensity of the snow, combined with it snowing all day, and the heavy amount I got there. We've had a few big ones since, but that one just checked off all the boxes for me when it comes to the perfect snowstorm. I wish I had a camcorder to record it but didn't.

Sent from my SM-S931U using Tapatalk

[jwilson]

On 2/21/2025 at 11:05 PM, Burghblizz said:

Jan 94 is worth researching, even just old YouTube videos. Epic storm. 20-30” in SW Pa with 3-4” per hour rates at its peak. Somewhat lost to history because it was 10 months after March 93, and the official total was mysteriously low (14”) compared to other reports. 

March 2018 was a nice long duration storm that kept adding on. Not super impactful though since it was March and was over probably 24 hours .

Really hard to find info on that January 3, 1994, storm.  I found a couple small clips on YouTube, including one from the Weather Channel that says Waynesburg measured 33" of snow - which seems insane - yet the storm isn't rated on the NESIS scale at all.

All I can think is the storm must have been quite localized, or Pittsburgh doesn't rate on NESIS.  It's strange.  I guess it was quite a minimal impact on all the main coastal cities so it dodges a rating and much historical acclaim.

I would love to see the orientation of that heavy snow axis because places were supposedly registering 4-6" an hour rates according to those clips.  I did hit 4"/hour rates during the 2020 storm, but it only lasted about 20 minutes.

[Rd9108]

42 minutes ago, jwilson said:

Really hard to find info on that January 3, 1994, storm.  I found a couple small clips on YouTube, including one from the Weather Channel that says Waynesburg measured 33" of snow - which seems insane - yet the storm isn't rated on the NESIS scale at all.

All I can think is the storm must have been quite localized, or Pittsburgh doesn't rate on NESIS.  It's strange.  I guess it was quite a minimal impact on all the main coastal cities so it dodges a rating and much historical acclaim.

I would love to see the orientation of that heavy snow axis because places were supposedly registering 4-6" an hour rates according to those clips.  I did hit 4"/hour rates during the 2020 storm, but it only lasted about 20 minutes.

It's incredibly difficult to find any snow map or info on the storm since it mostly was localized to our area. The big cities did not get hit. Not to mention that 94 seems to be known for the record cold wave. 

[CoraopolisWx]

A true I-79 classic. 

[TheClimateChanger]

1 hour ago, jwilson said:

Really hard to find info on that January 3, 1994, storm.  I found a couple small clips on YouTube, including one from the Weather Channel that says Waynesburg measured 33" of snow - which seems insane - yet the storm isn't rated on the NESIS scale at all.

All I can think is the storm must have been quite localized, or Pittsburgh doesn't rate on NESIS.  It's strange.  I guess it was quite a minimal impact on all the main coastal cities so it dodges a rating and much historical acclaim.

I would love to see the orientation of that heavy snow axis because places were supposedly registering 4-6" an hour rates according to those clips.  I did hit 4"/hour rates during the 2020 storm, but it only lasted about 20 minutes.

Definitely the good old days of yore. Here is what MGW observed from when they still had snow observations.

[TheClimateChanger]

Back in those days, northern PA seems to have had 30+" depths pretty frequently. Ignore the snowfall total here, since it's missing the big snow on the 5th. It's a shame we don't have observers in most of these places, but I suspect depths like this don't happen too frequently these days, even in the higher elevations.

DuBois

Bradford  - wow, 3 1/2 feet of snow, with an average snow depth over 31" per day.

[TheClimateChanger]

4 minutes ago, TheClimateChanger said:

Back in those days, northern PA seems to have had 30+" depths pretty frequently. Ignore the snowfall total here, since it's missing the big snow on the 5th. It's a shame we don't have observers in most of these places, but I suspect depths like this don't happen too frequently these days, even in the higher elevations.

DuBois

Bradford  - wow, 3 1/2 feet of snow, with an average snow depth over 31" per day.

They didn't seem to inflate the snowfall totals as much as we do these days. When 20" fell, the depth increased by 20 inches.

[Burghblizz]

6 hours ago, jwilson said:

Really hard to find info on that January 3, 1994, storm.  I found a couple small clips on YouTube, including one from the Weather Channel that says Waynesburg measured 33" of snow - which seems insane - yet the storm isn't rated on the NESIS scale at all.

All I can think is the storm must have been quite localized, or Pittsburgh doesn't rate on NESIS.  It's strange.  I guess it was quite a minimal impact on all the main coastal cities so it dodges a rating and much historical acclaim.

I would love to see the orientation of that heavy snow axis because places were supposedly registering 4-6" an hour rates according to those clips.  I did hit 4"/hour rates during the 2020 storm, but it only lasted about 20 minutes.

We do - but I think NESIS is population based. I think the impacts were I81 west, so none of the I95 cities got much. Ohio Valley got smoked too. 

[Burghblizz]

4 hours ago, TheClimateChanger said:

Definitely the good old days of yore. Here is what MGW observed from when they still had snow observations.

Impressive to see ~20” in MGW, then basically popping another -15” 2 weeks later.

That second storm was right before it was brutally cold. I think we got 6-8” out of that one. I remember that one actually being an overachiever as it didn’t look good. Was a bigger hit south and in central PA. 

[RitualOfTheTrout]

15 hours ago, CoraopolisWx said:

A true I-79 classic. 

Yeah, it seems like lately our region is divided on bigger storms. That Jan 94 storm track was perfect. Really an unusual distribution of snow. 

[meatwad]

 

[CoraopolisWx]

I think I had more days off that school year, than all the rest combined. Lol. 

[Burghblizz]

On 2/25/2025 at 7:34 AM, RitualOfTheTrout said:

Yeah, it seems like lately our region is divided on bigger storms. That Jan 94 storm track was perfect. Really an unusual distribution of snow. 

If someone is in the Mon Valley towards the M/D line, they probably average 10-12” lower than the airport. Always get the WTOD first on moderate storms, miss out on some LES, etc.

But that general area has seen 15” + at least 6 times in the last 32 years.  Official climo makes that more like a once every 10-15 year event.

Big difference was they did much better in ‘96 and especially ‘16. 

Just interesting since a lot of times they lose on the dividing line, but don’t seem to miss truly big ones. 

[Burghblizz]

On 2/24/2025 at 4:40 PM, TheClimateChanger said:

They didn't seem to inflate the snowfall totals as much as we do these days. When 20" fell, the depth increased by 20 inches.

Let’s say we get squalls on a March day.
Snows an inch overnight…sun comes out and melts it…squalls hits we get an inch…sun melts it…another squall hits after dark for an inch.

Did it only snow an inch?

I don’t think clearing every 6 hours inflates it - it just better accounts for what actually fell. 

[TimB]

14 minutes ago, Burghblizz said:

Let’s say we get squalls on a March day.
Snows an inch overnight…sun comes out and melts it…squalls hits we get an inch…sun melts it…another squall hits after dark for an inch.

Did it only snow an inch?

I don’t think clearing every 6 hours inflates it - it just better accounts for what actually fell. 

It’s probably more accurate to measure every inch that falls, regardless of when it melts. We don’t measure rain every 6 hours to give it time to evaporate, do we?

[TheClimateChanger]

48 minutes ago, Burghblizz said:

Let’s say we get squalls on a March day.
Snows an inch overnight…sun comes out and melts it…squalls hits we get an inch…sun melts it…another squall hits after dark for an inch.

Did it only snow an inch?

I don’t think clearing every 6 hours inflates it - it just better accounts for what actually fell. 

The guidelines say that scenario is 3" of snow. The instructions here are for 24-hour observations, as that is the common practice for cooperative stations: one daily measurement, typically in the morning. This also suggests you can sum if it partially melts. I guess you'd have to also record what the depth dropped to, in order to determine the new snowfall, since the board cannot be cleared more than once in six hours.

Quote

 

Measure and record the greatest amount of snowfall that has accumulated on your snowboard (wooden deck or ground if board is not available) since the previous snowfall observation. This measurement should be taken minimally once-a-day but can be taken up to four times a day, (every 6 hours) and should reflect the greatest accumulation of new snow observed (in inches and tenths, for example, 3.9 inches) since the last snowfall observation. Snowfall amounts can be measured hourly or at any interval as long as the snow measurement board is NOT cleared more frequently than once every 6 hours. If you are not available to watch snow accumulation at all times of the day and night, use your best estimate, based on a measurement of snowfall at the scheduled time of observation along with knowledge of what took place during the past 24 hours. If you are not present to witness the greatest snow accumulation, input may be obtained from other people who were near the station during the snow event. If your observation is not based on a measurement, record in your remarks that the "snow amount based on estimate". Remember, you want to report the greatest accumulation since the last observation. If snowfall occurred several times during the period, and each snowfall melted either completely or in part before the next snowfall, record the total of the greatest snowdepths of each event and enter in your remarks "snowfall melted during the OBS period". For example, three separate snow squalls affect your station during your 24-hour reporting day, say 3.0, 2.2, and 1.5 inches. The snow from each event melts off before the next accumulation and no snow is on the ground at your scheduled time of observation. The total snowfall for that reporting 24-hour day is the sum of the three separate snow squalls, 6.7 inches, even though the snow depth on your board at observation time was zero.

 

Source: Snow Measurement Guidelines

 

[TheClimateChanger]

42 minutes ago, TimB said:

It’s probably more accurate to measure every inch that falls, regardless of when it melts. We don’t measure rain every 6 hours to give it time to evaporate, do we?

Well, snow is a different beast. More frequent observations can result in a huge mismatch between the "snowfall" and what has actually accumulated on the ground.

Even 6-hourly observations can result in a boost of 15-20 percent versus the maximum depth from a storm. In the past, snowfall was typically measured once daily or even estimated using a 10:1 ratio from its melted liquid equivalent, or in some cases just a measurement of the change in snow depth. The current procedure didn't become common until the 1950s to as late as the 1990s at some first order sites.

Source: Snowfall measurement: a flaky history | NCAR & UCAR News

[TheClimateChanger]

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA
833 PM EST Thu Feb 27 2025

OHC019-067-081-280200-
/O.CON.KPBZ.SV.W.0002.000000T0000Z-250228T0200Z/
Carroll OH-Harrison OH-Jefferson OH-
833 PM EST Thu Feb 27 2025

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EST FOR
SOUTHEASTERN CARROLL, NORTHEASTERN HARRISON AND CENTRAL JEFFERSON OH
COUNTIES...

At 833 PM EST, a severe thunderstorm was located 11 miles southeast
of Carrollton, moving east at 45 mph.

HAZARD...Quarter size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Damage to vehicles is expected.

Locations impacted include...
  Steubenville, Wintersville, Hopedale, Smithfield, Scio, Jewett,
  Amsterdam, Richmond, New Alexandria, Bloomingdale, Unionport,
  Brentwood and Kilgore.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Seek shelter inside a well-built structure and stay away from
windows. This storm is capable of producing large hail.

&&

LAT...LON 4034 8112 4050 8106 4043 8062 4026 8068
TIME...MOT...LOC 0122Z 275DEG 39KT 4045 8115

HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...<50 MPH

$$

 

[TheClimateChanger]

 

[north pgh]

Line about to move into Allegheny County. Any reports yet?

[north pgh]

Pouring rain with mixed snowflakes. Lightning and thunder. Winds gusting to maybe 30 mph. 

[Burghblizz]

Had some briefly heavy snow but no lighting or thunder that I saw 

[RitualOfTheTrout]

Coating on the grass here with light to moderate wind driven snow.

[Burghblizz]

Had a brief period of heavy snow this morning - maybe a fluffy half inch in the grass and on the deck. 
 

But that is melting off quickly now once it stopped. Welcome to March. 

[jwilson]

Odds of another synoptic snow event are gradually dwindling, especially as temps look to warm over the next couple weeks.

If there's any snow left in this winter, it's probably the stuff we're seeing today: snow showers after a passing cold front.  Doesn't amount to much.

I put the over/under of winter at 30" and that's about where the official number sits now.

[Mailman]

GFS out of nowhere.

[TheClimateChanger]

2 hours ago, Mailman said:

GFS out of nowhere.

Yes, that's not too shabby for a six hour snowfall.

[TheClimateChanger]

And 24-hour snowfall [ending 06z Monday, March 10]: