While snowfall has been measured by the yard in portions of the western U.S. in recent weeks, there’s been no snow to measure at all in places like Philadelphia, New York City, and surrounding areas in New Jersey and elsewhere in the Mid Atlantic. According to the National Weather Service, the lack of snow this winter is itself record-breaking.
In Philadelphia, it’s been 320 days since the last measurable snow fell in Philly, when 0.4″ fell on March 12, 2022. This makes the snow drought in Philly the fifth longest on record. The longest run of snowless days in Philly ended on March 15, 1973, ending a 616 day streak of no measurable snow. The second longest run was 332 days, which ended on December 15, 2020. Records for periods without snow in Philadelphia go back to July 1, 1884.
In New York City, the snowfall hasn’t been much better. Yesterday, only a trace of snow was recorded at Central Park before precipitation changed over to plain rain. January 29, 1973 was the latest first measurable snow New York City has ever had, when 1.8″ fell. If no measurable snow falls in New York City by January 29, this season will replace the current record; these records go back to 1869.
There are no significant winter storms on the horizon for the region either. While some forecast models used by meteorologists suggest more wintry weather is possible in the last days of January or the first days of February, there is no high probability event arriving in the short-term.
