Somewhat Snowless Starts To Winter
Going back to the 1884-1885 winter, there have been 27 years where Philadelphia received four inches of snow or less before the end of January of the snow season.The average snowfall of those 27 winters before the end of January is 1.9", which is less than what Philadelphia has received so far this winter (2.6" through Friday 1/19). In those 27 winters, the average snowfall between February 1st and the end of the snow season was 10.8", which is only slightly below the 30 year normal snowfall in Philadelphia between February 1st and the end of the snow season (11.3"). That half inch difference is not significant and would at the surface appear to provide some solace that the winter will provide a real good chance at salvaging at least one or two good snowfalls before we get into Spring.
In terms of average monthly snowfall in Philadelphia after January, February averages 6.6", March averages 3.3", and April averages 0.6". In Nina winters, the post-January range since 1950 has been from 1.2" (1950) to 11.2" (1997).
Looking at the data further, only 12 of the 27 winters actually had more than 10.8" after February 1st, with two winters in the 1910's providing nearly 30" each winter to help boost the average about a half an inch when both the two highest and two lowest samples are thrown out. In the end, the average snowfall after February 1st in a slow starting winter is not terribly far off the 30 year normal, but the trend leans against going above normal snowfall down the stretch.Tags:
