Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 1, 2005

Name: Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, March 1, 2005
Start: 2005-03-01T00:00
End: 2005-03-01T22:00
Location: Pennsylvania

March 1, 2005 · NWS PBZ · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Rain and snow began 7 AM Feb 28, changed to snow by 9 AM. Snow continued into the night, until just beforenoon Mar 1, when it tapered off to snow showers.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Rain and snow began 7 AM Feb 28, changed to snow by 9 AM. Snow continued into the night, until just beforenoon Mar 1, when it tapered off to snow showers. Six inches of snow accumulated by midnight the morning of Mar 1. Chalkhill had 8" by 7 AM, and Conemaugh got 7. By 7 AM Mar 2, Creekside totaled 10.

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 Feb 28, 2:50 PM EST, 9 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 2:50 PM EST, 9 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA
250 PM EST MON FEB 28 2005

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT)...
WL CONT WINTER STORM WRNG ALL ZNS THRU 4PM TUE WITH TOTAL ACCUM
GNLY 5 TO 10 INCHES BY TUE EVE. TEMPS ARE CURRENTLY IN MID/UPR 30S
ACRS PTNS OF E CNTRL OH WITH MIX OF RAIN/SNOW OCCURRING. THIS SHUD
CHG TO ALL SNOW BY LATE AFTN/ERY EVE AFT SOLAR INSOLATION WANES.

WL ADD MENTION OF BLOWING SNOW TO ZNS FOR TUE THRU WED AS PRES
GRADIENT INCRS BHD SECOND LO.

TAPERED POPS FOR SNOW SHWRS TO LKLY TUE NGT AND CHC FOR WED AS
SECOND LO MOVS E AND IS ABSORBED BY MAIN COASTAL SYSTM.

&&

.LONG TERM (THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY)...
EXPECT A RELATIVE LULL FOR THU INTO FRI AS SFC HI MOVS SEWD FM UPR
MS VLY INTO CNTRL APLCHNS. POPS SHUD BE 20 PCT OR LESS.

NEXT SYSTM WL PUSH ACRS THE LWR GRTLKS AND BRING A CHANCE OF SNOW
SHWRS OVER THE WEEKEND INTO MON.

&&

.AVIATION...
EXPECT FLIGHT CONDITIONS TO BE LIFR AT TIMES WITH -SN INTO LATE
TUESDAY...AS UPPER LOW PRESSURE MOVES THROUGH THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.
AT OTHER TIMES DO NOT EXPECT CONDITIONS TO BE BETTER THAN MVFR.
TONIGHT WINDS WILL BE FROM THE EAST AT 10-20KTS. AFTER LOW CENTER
PASSES EAST OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY...WINDS WILL BECOME
WEST-SOUTHWEST 13G25KTS...THEN NORTHWEST 15G30KTS LATE TUESDAY.
THERE CAN ALSO BE VIS RESTRICTIONS FROM BLSN THEN.

&&

.PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MD...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR MDZ001 UNTIL 4 PM TUESDAY.
OH...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR OHZ039-OHZ040-OHZ041-OHZ048-OHZ049-
     OHZ050-OHZ057-OHZ058-OHZ059-OHZ068-OHZ069 UNTIL 4 PM TUESDAY.
PA...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR PAZ007-PAZ008-PAZ009-PAZ013-PAZ014-
     PAZ015-PAZ016-PAZ020-PAZ021-PAZ022-PAZ023-PAZ029-PAZ030-
     PAZ031-PAZ032 UNTIL 4 PM TUESDAY.
WV...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR WVZ001-WVZ002-WVZ003-WVZ004-WVZ012-
     WVZ021-WVZ022-WVZ023-WVZ041 UNTIL 4 PM TUESDAY.

&&

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Fayette

When: March 1, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Fayette forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Indiana

When: March 1, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Indiana forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Westmoreland

When: March 1, 12:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Westmoreland forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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, March 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5436710, 5436711, 5436712.