Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, April 3, 2005

Name: Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, April 3, 2005
Start: 2005-04-03T02:00
End: 2005-04-03T12:00
Location: Pennsylvania

April 3, 2005 · NWS PBZ · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Surface low pressure passed over Huntington, WV. Then it intensified and moved into northeastern Pennsylvania.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 PBZ wrote it up.

Surface low pressure passed over Huntington, WV. Then it intensified and moved into northeastern Pennsylvania. Heavy snow started on the northwest side of the storm after 8 PM on 2nd. Mountains started snowing by 11 PM on 2nd. Total snowfalls: 6 inches in Cooksburg, Mercer, Oil City and Piney Dam; 7 in Chalkhill and Freeport; 8 in Saxonburg; 9 West Hickory. Several trees fell in Oil City (Venango Co) from the weight of the snow.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pittsburgh, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 2, 3:15 PM EST, 10 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 2, 3:15 PM EST, 10 hours 45 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 2, 5:23 AM EST, 20 hours 37 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
523 AM EST SAT APR 2 2005

MDZ001-OHZ039>041-048>050-057>059-068-069-PAZ007>009-013>016-020>023-
029>032-WVZ001>004-012-021>023-041-031021-
ALLEGHENY PA-ARMSTRONG PA-BEAVER PA-BELMONT OH-BROOKE WV-BUTLER PA-
CARROLL OH-CLARION PA-COLUMBIANA OH-COSHOCTON OH-FAYETTE PA-
FOREST PA-GARRETT MD-GREENE PA-GUERNSEY OH-HANCOCK WV-HARRISON OH-
INDIANA PA-JEFFERSON PA-JEFFERSON OH-LAWRENCE PA-MARION WV-
MARSHALL WV-MERCER PA-MONONGALIA WV-MONROE OH-MUSKINGUM OH-NOBLE OH-
OHIO WV-PRESTON WV-TUCKER WV-TUSCARAWAS OH-VENANGO PA-WASHINGTON PA-
WESTMORELAND PA-WETZEL WV-
523 AM EST SAT APR 2 2005

HAZARDOUS WEATHER FOR WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA...EAST CENTRAL
OHIO...NORTHERN WEST VIRGINIA AND GARRETT COUNTY MARYLAND.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT TODAY AND TONIGHT. WIND ADVISORY IS IN
EFFECT TONIGHT FOR WIND GUSTS 45 TO 55 MPH. WINTER STORM WATCH
TONIGHT FOR THE MOUNTAINS EAST AND SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

WIND ADVISORY CONTINUES SUNDAY FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. THE WINTER STORM
WATCH CONTINUES SUNDAY FOR THE MOUNTAINS EAST AND SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH
WHERE AT LEAST OF 6 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ARE ASKED TO REPORT ANY FLOODING, AND ANY NEW SNOW FALL OVER
2 INCHES.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Mercer

When: April 3, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.302, -80.258 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Armstrong

When: April 3, 2:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where: Armstrong forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.812, -79.464 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Venango

When: April 3, 3:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where: Venango forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.401, -79.758 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Butler

When: April 3, 4:00 AM EST to 10:00 AM EST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 40.912, -79.913 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Clarion

When: April 3, 7:00 AM EST to 11:00 AM EST
Where: Clarion forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.192, -79.421 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Fayette

When: April 3, 9:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Fayette forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Forest

When: April 3, 10:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Forest forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.513, -79.236 (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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Pennsylvania, April 2005

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5444894, 5444899, 5444895, 5444897, 5444898, 5444900, 5444896.