Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 12, 2006

A low pressure system developed along the Gulf Coast on Saturday morning, February 11th, and then tracked northeast to the mid Atlantic Coast by late Saturday night, before passing off the southern New England Coast by midday on Sunday, February 12th. This storm system spread a swath of heavy snowfall across portions of south central and southeast Pennsylvania during Saturday evening, and continued into early Sunday morning. Storm total accumulations varied considerably across the area, with amounts of 6 to 10 inches falling to the north and west, closer to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, while amounts of 12 to 20 inches were common further south and east. The hardest hit areas were across southern York and Lancaster Counties, where hourly snowfall rates of up to 3 inches per hour, along with thunder and lightning occurred at the height of the storm just after midnight.This storm had a major impact on the hardest hit areas from Sunday into Monday, as numerous roads and businesses were closed. In addition, many schools in York and Lancaster Counties were closed on Monday due to snow removal and cleanup efforts. No major structural damage was reported, despite the heavy snowfall.