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Philly may get its first (barely) measurable snowfall of the season Thursday

Philly hasn't had measurable snow in December since 2020, but we're not about to become Erie of the East.

Snow covers the 2500 block of North 17th Street just above Cumberland in December 2020. No measurable snow has fallen in Philly officially in December in the last four years.
Snow covers the 2500 block of North 17th Street just above Cumberland in December 2020. No measurable snow has fallen in Philly officially in December in the last four years.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

It won’t measure up to what’s been happening in the lake-effect snow belt nor will it close schools, but Philly may have a shot at its first official snowfall of the season on Thursday.

“It’s not out of the question,” said John Feerick, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. And the National Weather Service sees the potential of “less than a half inch” at Philadelphia International Airport — at tops about 500 times less than has fallen upon Erie County.

That potential milestone notwithstanding, “I think the bigger concern is going to be a burst of snow causing some low visibility and potentially some problems for the [Thursday] morning commute,” Feerick added.

Given that the ground is cold and snow could land before the sun comes up, bridges and overpasses might become dicey in parts of the region, he added.

As a precaution, PennDot will be spreading anti-icing material on major roads in the region, said spokesperson Brad Rudolph.

Arguing against the snow, said Patrick O’Hara, meteorologist with the weather service in Mount Holly, is the fact that moisture will be “very sparse” along the potent approaching front that would be the triggering mechanism of the showers.

Less in doubt is the potential for powerful winds in the wake of the front during the day Thursday. The weather service has posted a wind advisory for gusts to 50 mph and warned that scattered power outages are possible.

After the front clears the region, the January chill will continue through the week with days in the 30s and nights in the 20s, several degrees below seasonal normals.

Computer models and their human interpreters say no.

A warm-up should begin Sunday with highs in the 40s, and perhaps well into the 50s on Tuesday with rain likely early in the workweek.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for the Dec. 11 through 17 period favors above-normal departures and precipitation.

In short, Philly isn’t about to become Erie of the East.

How much snow fell in Erie, and could that ever happen in Philly?

Snow still is falling upon our fellow Pennsylvanians in the northwest corner of the state, and as of mid-afternoon, 59.8 inches had been measured by a weather service trained spotter in Girard, a small town just southwest of Erie.

Residents who live in lake-effect zones have come to expect this when the Great Lake waters are warm and the winter winds are angry, said O’Hara, a native of the New York State snow belt.

However, by any measure this has been an extraordinary event, and the winds that are about to whip the Philadelphia region are expected to generate several more inches of snow in the Erie area and portions of southwestern New York.

Officially, Erie International Airport had skated by with a mere 32.9 inches of as 7 a.m. Monday, but 22.6 inches of that was recorded on Friday, the most for any calendar day on record in the city.

Could that ever happen around here?

Actually, it has. On Jan. 7, 1996, an official 27.6 inches was measured at PHL. The runners-up were Feb. 6, 2010, with 21.9 inches, and 21.1 inches on Feb. 11, 1983.

But snow has been scarce around here lately, and no measurable snow has fallen upon PHL in December since 2020.