Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, May 31, 1996

Name: Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, May 31, 1996
Start: 1996-05-31T23:59
End: 1996-05-31T23:59
Location: Pennsylvania

May 31, 1996 · NWS BGM · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

3 inches. 4 inches, set during the winter of 1993-94.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS BGM wrote it up.

The snowfall total for the 1995-96 winter season at the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Airport in Avoca was 98.3 inches. That broke the record for the greatest snowfall in a winter season, which was 90.4 inches, set during the winter of 1993-94.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Lackawanna

When: May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Lackawanna forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.437, -75.609 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Luzerne

When: May 31, 11:59 PM EST
Where: Luzerne forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.177, -75.989 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, May 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5559572, 5559573.