Pennsylvania, 1997

Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, February 8, 1997

February 8, 1997 · NWS PHI · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Snow, heavy at times in lower Bucks and Montgomery Counties, fell throughout the day on the 8th in Southeast Pennsylvania. To date this was the heaviest snow of the season for extreme Southeast Pennsylvania.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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 PHI wrote it up.

Snow, heavy at times in lower Bucks and Montgomery Counties, fell throughout the day on the 8th in Southeast Pennsylvania. To date this was the heaviest snow of the season for extreme Southeast Pennsylvania. Snow started during the morning of the 8th and fell at a fairly steady clip throughout the day. The exception was across a strip of lower Montgomery and Bucks Counties where a band of heavier snow developed during the afternoon of the 8th and produced the highest accumulations in the state. The accumulating snow was over before midnight EST on the 9th. As is the case with most snow events, there is a sharp cut-off from heavy to light snow. The snow was considerably lighter in Berks County and upper parts of Montgomery and Bucks County where accumulations averaged 2 inches. Even less fell in the Lehigh Valley. At the Lehigh Valley International Airport the accumulation was only 0.8 inches. Farther southeast, accumulations averaged around 4 inches in Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester Counties and up to 7 inches in lower Bucks County. Some representative snowfall totals included 7.0 inches at Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County), 6.6 inches in Levittown (Bucks County), 6.3 inches in Wynnewood (Montgomery County), 5.0 inches in Southampton (Bucks County), 4.1 inches in Glenmoore (Chester County), 4.0 inches in Center City Philadelphia and Wallingford (Delaware County), 3.3 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport, 2.0 inches in Doylestown (Bucks County) and Pottstown (Montgomery County) and 1.9 inches in Reading. Since this snow fell on a Saturday, the number of accidents was reduced. The low pressure system responsible for the heavy snow initially formed in the western Gulf of Mexico on the 7th. By the morning of the 8th, there were three separate centers, over Georgia, western North Carolina and near Cape Hatteras. These combined into one by the afternoon of the 8th. The low though moved fairly quickly out to sea. By 7 a.m. EST on the 9th, it was already about 500 miles east of Philadelphia. While its storm track placed the far edge of the band of heaviest snow across extreme Southeast Pennsylvania, its fast movement prevented heavier accumulations from occurring.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 winter weather, 2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Bucks

When
February 8, 9:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Montgomery

When
February 8, 9:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone

Winter Weather, Berks

When
February 8, 9:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where
Berks forecast zone
Coordinates
40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Chester

When
February 8, 9:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone

Winter Weather, Delaware

When
February 8, 9:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Coordinates
39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Philadelphia

When
February 8, 9:00 AM EST to 11:00 PM EST
Where
Philadelphia forecast zone
Coordinates
40.008, -75.134 (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.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, February 1997

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: 5594695, 5594696, 5594697, 5594698, 5594699, 5594700.