Philadelphia weather: How much snow did we get on Saturday?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Those in the greater Philadelphia region woke up Saturday morning to a winter wonderland!
Saturday's overnight snow storm was fast-moving and essentially a "while you were sleeping" storm.
The big story of this storm is the vast differences in snow totals - just in Bucks County, we saw totals that differed by almost 10 inches!
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Across Philadelphia and the suburbs, 2-4 inches of snow fell - but it wasn't as fluffy as expected, since the temperatures didn't drop below the freezing mark fast enough overnight. Snow was light and fluffy in some parts of Pennsylvania, and packed down in others.
The snowfall was mostly in the 3-5 inch range, but a rare mesoscale band developed and produced snowfall rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour across this 20-mile wide area.
This band stretched through Berks County into Lehigh County, Upper Montgomery County and Upper Bucks County. You can see the circled region on the map below.
On either side of this band, snow totals dropped off to 3-6 inches.
The lowest totals of .05 to 3 inches fell along the Jersey Shore and in southern Delaware.
Lingering wraparound snow showers persisted through 10 a.m.
Temperatures in the Philadelphia area dropped below freezing between 2 to 3 a.m. overnight which is why snow totals here aren't hitting those highs like up in Lehigh County.
Let's talk totals: How much snow fell in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware?
PENNSYLVANIA:
- Center Valley, Pa.: 13.8 inches
- Macungie, Pa.: 13.7 inches
- Kintnersville, Pa.: 13.0 inches
- Emmaus, Pa.: 12.8 inches
- Lyons, Pa.: 12 inches
- Hellertown, Pa.: 11.8 inches
- Allentown, Pa.: 7-12 inches
- Breinigsville, Pa.: 9.0inches
- Huffs Church, Pa.: 8.4 inches
- Upper Saucon Township, Pa.: 8.0 inches
- Quakertown, Pa.: 8.0 inches
- East Rockhill Twp., Pa.: 5.2 inches
- Pennsburg, Pa.: 5 inches
- Berwyn, Pa.: 4.8 inches
- West Chester, Pa.: 3.5 inches
- Newtown (Bucks County) Pa. : 3.4 inches
- Boothwyn, Pa.: 3.2 inches
- Paoli, Pa.: 3.0 inches
- Philadelphia International Airport, Pa.: 2.3 inches
NEW JERSEY:
- Mount Laurel, N.J.: 4.5 inches
- Cherry Hill, N.J.: 4.3 inches
- Trenton-Mercer Airport, N.J.: 4.0 inches
- Delran, N.J.: 4.0 inches
- Delaware City, Del.: 3.5 inches
- Northeast Philadelphia, Pa.: 3.5 inches
- Pitman, N.J.: 3.5 inches
- Buena Vista Township, N.J.: 3.3 inches
- Folsom, N.J.: 2.6 inches
- Atlantic City, N.J.: 2.2 inches
DELAWARE:
- Clayton, Del.: 3.0 inches
- Smyrna, Del.: 2.5 inches
- New Castle County Airport, Del.: 2.0 inches
- Newark, Del.: 2.2-2.4 inches
- Wilmington, Del.: 1.5 inches
When did the snow start?
Our NEXT Weather radar shows the snow really came in between 2 to 4 a.m. in the Lehigh Valley, Berks County, upper Bucks and Montgomery counties maintained a consistent, heavy snow presence throughout the night.
The storm eventually made its way down to Philadelphia at about 2 to 3 a.m.
While it's largely moved out, we could see some wraparound snow showers later Saturday on the backside of this, with potential for a lake effect snow shower.
Temperatures in Philadelphia will peak throughout Saturday at around 38 degrees. However, the sun will be out so snow will start melting on the roads.
Saturday will be a windy and raw sort of day. Conditions will clear out come Saturday night.
For those who despise the snow, there's no need to fret. Looking ahead, Sunday will be mostly sunny with a high of 40 degrees and low of 23.
Answering your questions on Facebook Live
Good morning ❄️ snow arrived overnight and some of us saw more than a foot! Meterologist Tammie Souza is live now to chat and answer any questions about the storm
Posted by CBS Philadelphia on Saturday, February 17, 2024