Flakes flutter over Philly, but it’s now been 677 days since an inch of snow landed upon the city

So much for that snow threat.

Decorative flakes filled the the air over the region for most of Thursday morning, but in the immediate Philly area, they might just as well have fallen upon hot plates.

As much as a half-inch was reported well outside the city, said Paul Fitzsimmons, a lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly.

However, by noon it was all but over, and evidently nothing qualified as measurable had landed at Philadelphia International Airport. Officially, the city now has gone a record 677 days since it received an inch of snow.

This was the third “trace” of snow in the last 10 days. Officially, Philly did not experience a trace — defined as the government contracted observer at the airport spotting a single flake — until Dec. 15 last year.

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Save for its recent scarcity, Thursday’s snow would hardly have been noteworthy.

Fitzsimmons said a storm Sunday afternoon into Sunday night is likely to have more impact. That one will be a rainstorm, as a potent cold front approaches on Sunday, routing the Friday and Saturday warm-up.

» READ MORE: As Philly gets a taste of winter, the snow drought has set a record and shows no signs of ending

Winds could gust to 50 mph Sunday night, with heavy rains, the weather service says. The approaching new moon also will add a kick to tides, increasing the chances of coastal flooding.