Did it snow at Philadelphia International Airport in July? Not really, but here's what did happen
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With multi-day heat waves and feels-like temperatures soaring over 100 degrees, snow is probably the last thing most of us would expect to fall from the sky in July.
But according to the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, that's what happened at Philadelphia International Airport on July 14. Well, sort of.
In a social media post, the NWS explained that thunderstorms passed over PHL on Sunday and produced small hail. "Since hail is frozen precipitation, this counts as a 'trace' of snow in our climate reports," the post said.
Here's a win for #TeamSnow. Thunderstorms passed over Philadelphia Intl. Airport Sunday afternoon and produced small hail. Since hail is frozen precipitation, this counts as a "trace" of snow in our climate reports. Hence, the record daily snowfall report. #PAwx pic.twitter.com/NbZ3xC2vfi
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) July 15, 2024
So even though it was just a "trace" of snow, Philadelphia did actually set a snowfall record for July 14, breaking its old record of a whopping zero inches recorded in 1870.
While it's rare to get even a trace of snow due to hail from thunderstorms in the summer, the NWS says it's happened more often than you might think. From June 1911 to August 2011, the NWS has recorded 13 instances of getting a trace of snow at PHL in the summer months.
Meanwhile on the other end of the weather spectrum, the average high temperature in Philadelphia this July is 91 degrees. That's 3.2 degrees above average.
As of Monday, July 15, the region already had 21 days with a high of 90 degrees or greater, the most to date since 2012. On average, the area gets 30 days with 90-degree temperatures or greater. So at this rate, Philly is on target to go well past that mark.