Heavy snows to the north, east, west, and south, but not so much for Philly and the Pa. burbs

In the heart of what is normally the peak snowfall season, Philadelphia and most of eastern Pennsylvania evidently are squarely (or roundly) in a doughnut hole for snow totals in the strange winter of 2021-22, according to an analysis by the National Weather Service.

Those storms Friday and on Jan. 16-17 bumped up snow totals to the north and west, and nor’easters have been generous with the white stuff to the south and east.

But in between?

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Atlantic City’s total for the season, 33.2 inches, exceeds the combined seasonal amounts for Scranton, Allentown, and Harrisburg. The totals to date in Scranton, 12.8 inches, and Allentown, 8.9, are about half of normal.

Officially, the 12.1 inches at Philadelphia International Airport is a shade below the normal for a Feb. 5, and the city is on the southeast edge of a circular snow-deprivation zone that extends into Maryland.

That deficit is almost certainly going to increase this week, with nothing that would qualify as a threat on the horizon, said Paul Fitzsimmons, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Mount Holly.

What explains the doughnut hole?

» READ MORE: Snow is notoriously capricious in Philadelphia

“We just haven’t had the perfect track to hit this area really hard,” said Fitzsimmons. “For a major coastal storm you want it to be about 100 miles south and east.” The tracks just haven’t been close enough.

The Groundhog and meteorologists are saying winter still has at least a few weeks of life left.

But that said, snow is historically capricious around here, almost as though it is brought to us by the Pennsylvania Lottery.

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