A late season winter storm system moved northeast just off the east coast and brought periods of locally heavy snowfall to southeastern York and Lancaster counties. Storm totals were generally on the order of six to eight inches, mainly along and southeast of Route 30.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS CTP wrote it up.
A late season winter storm system moved northeast just off the east coast and brought periods of locally heavy snowfall to southeastern York and Lancaster counties. Storm totals were generally on the order of six to eight inches, mainly along and southeast of Route 30. Heavier snowfall occurred along and east of the I-95 corridor.
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 State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 1, 9:29 PM EST, 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 929 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A DEVELOPING WINTER STORM NEAR CAPE HATTERAS EARLY THIS EVENING...WILL MOVE TO THE EAST OF NANTUCKET ISLAND BY MID DAY MONDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL FOLLOW FOR THE EARLY TO MIDDLE PART OF THE WEEK...PROVIDING MAINLY DRY WEATHER BUT ALSO UNSEASONABLY COLD WEATHER. A GRADUAL MODERATING TREND APPEARS IN STORE BY THE END OF THE WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 AM MONDAY MORNING/... NORTHERN EDGE OF THE PRECIP SHIELD HAS SURGED INTO SERN PA AT THIS HOUR WITH THE FIRST OF THE SNOW REACHING INTO THE PHL SUBURBS. NEW OPERATIONAL NAM SHOWS A VERY SHARP GRADIENT TO THE BACK EDGE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MDT/THV AND SERN LANCASTER COUNTY. WE TRIMMED BACK THE EXPECTED SNOW AMOUNTS A BIT BASED ON THE TRENDS AND NEW NAM QPF...BUT WILL LEAVE THE HEADLINE PRODUCTS IN PLACE SINCE THE SNOW REALLY HASNT STARTED AS YET. OTHER THAN SCALING BACK ON OUR EXPECTATIONS...WILL LEAVE MUCH OF THE OVERNIGHT FCST AS IS UNTIL WE SEE EXACTLY WHERE THE BACK EDGE OF THE STORM WANTS TO SET UP. BANDED SNOW FEATURES ON THE REGIONAL MOSAICS SEEM BEST ALIGNED WITHIN THE AREA OF STRONGEST 925-850MB FRONTOGENESIS. THIS STAYS PRETTY MUCH IN PLACE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE THE MESO MODELS ROTATE THE FORCING BACK WESTWARD A BIT LATER TONIGHT AND EARLY MON MORNING AS THE LOW SLIDES UP AND SOME SORT OF DEFORMATION ZONE BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE. THIS MAY VERY WELL BE WHEN THE WORST OF OUR SENSIBLE WEATHER WILL OCCUR SO AS I MENTIONED...WILL SIT ON THINGS FOR THE TIME BEING. && .SHORT TERM /6 AM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY/... THERE WILL LIKELY BE A SHARP GRADIENT IN SNOW ACCUMULATION NEAR OR JUST TO THE WEST OF A KTHV...TO KMDT AND KAVP LINE...WHICH I COULD EASILY SEE RANGING FROM WARNING CRITERIA SNOW OF 6-8 INCHES JUST TO THE EAST...WITH JUST A FEW INCHES 25 MILES OR SO FURTHER TO THE NW. THE GREATEST SNOWFALL RATES (1-2 INCHES PER HOUR FOR BRIEF PERIODS) SHOULD SLIDE ACROSS PORTIONS OF YORK AND LANCASTER COUNTIES BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z MONDAY AS DEEP LAYER FRONTOGENESIS DEVELOPS WITH THE 700-500 HPA LOW PROGGED TO TRACK NEAR...OR JUST TO THE SE OF THE INTERSTATE 95 CORRIDOR. PERIODS OF LIGHTER SNOW SLOWLY ADVANCES NORTHWARD TO NEAR...AND THEN JUST TO THE NW OF INTERSTATE 81 TONIGHT...WITH 1-3 INCHES POSSIBLY BY NOON MONDAY. THERES STILL LITTLE INDICATION THUS FAR FROM THE 09Z-12Z NAM/GFS AND SREF TO PAINT EVEN AN INCH NEAR AND TO THE WEST OF A LINE FROM KAOO...TO KUNV AND KELM. 3-5 SREF MEMBERS SUPPORT A FEW INCHES OF SNOW BACK INTO THESE AREAS...AND UP THE MEAN SNOWFALL TO AN INCH OR SO. HOWEVER...IN THE FAR OUTSIDE CHC THAT ACCUMULATING SNOW OF THIS AMT 1-3 GETS BACK THIS FAR TO THE WEST...WIDESPREAD WARNING CRITERIA SNOW WOULD BE FOUND ALONG THE I-81 CORRIDOR. THE PROBABILITY OF THIS OCCURRENCE RIGHT NOW IS ONLY AROUND 10-20 PERCENT. MONDAY LOOKS PRETTY COLD WITH CLOUDS AND SNOW IN THE EAST EARLY. 8H TEMPS DROP INTO THE -20C RANGE AS THE STORM PULLS AWAY TO THE NE ON MONDAY. N-S DEFORMATION BANDS OF LIGHTER SNOW LINGER INTO THE AFTERNOON IN THE FAR EAST. OTHERWISE...IT WILL THEN JUST GET COLD WITHOUT THE CLOUDS AND MOISTURE MON NIGHT AND TUES. HAVE GONE FOR TEMPS AT OR BELOW MAV GUID FOR THOSE TIMES. && .LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... HEIGHTS STEADILY INCREASE TUE THRU WED NGT ALONG WITH A DRY AIRMASS...EXPECT FEW CLOUDS. THERMAL RIDGE IN MID-LVLS ARRIVES WITH A FRONTAL BNDRY EARLY THUR...WITH NEXT CHC OF PRECIP ARRIVING THUR/FRI...HOWEVER LATEST ENSEMBLES HAVE A HIGHER CONFIDENCE WITH FRI. THUS HAVE ADJUSTED POP/S ACCORDINGLY. CONFIDENCE IS LOWER IN THE LATER PERIODS...HOWEVER APPEARS ANY SFC VORTS WILL TRACK ACROSS GREAT LAKES WITH A PERSISTENT SW FLOW. THE CHALLENGE CONTINUES TO RESIDE AROUND HOW WARM/COLD WE WILL BE IN THE LATER PERIODS. IT APPEARS LLVL MOISTURE IS WAINING A BIT FRI THRU SUN...WITH BORDERLINE CHC/S FOR PRECIP EACH DAY. && .AVIATION /02Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... SYNOPTIC SET-UP THIS EVE FEATURES HIGH PRES OVER THE UPPER GRT LKS WITH A DEVELOPING COASTAL LOW PRES SYSTEM ALONG THE CAROLINA COAST. THE MAIN AREA OF CONCERN OVER THE NEXT 06-12 HRS WILL BE THE SOUTHEAST AIRFIELDS...WITH MVFR/IFR CONDS LKLY IN SN. REGIONAL RADAR SHOWS SNOW BEGINNING TO PIVOT INTO FAR SERN PA WITH VIRGA ALOFT PROBABLY OCCURRING AT MDT/THV/LNS. AS THE STORM SYSTEM CONTS TO LIFT NEWD ON MONDAY...SOME MVFR -SN MAY REACH IPT EARLY IN THE DAY. XPECT A RATHER SHARP GRADIENT TO THE PCPN SHIELD IN THE NERN QUAD OF THE SYSTEM AS IT HEADS TWD 40N/70W BY MON AFTN. ANOTHER ISSUE WILL BE THE INC NRLY WNDS ON THE BACKSIDE...WHICH WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE 15-20KT RANGE WITH GUSTS UP TO 30KTS INTO MONDAY EVE. THIS MAY LEAD TO CROSSWIND PROBLEMS ALONG WITH SOME LOW LEVEL MECHANICAL TURBULENCE DURING TAKEOFF AND FINAL APPROACH. A SECOND AREA OF LOWERED CONDS WILL AT BFD AS CYCLONIC FLOW BRINGS IN SOME LOW CLOUDS AND MAYBE EVEN SOME OCNL -SHSN. THE CENTRAL TERMINALS JST/AOO/UNV SHOULD REMAIN LOW END VFR AND MAINLY DRY THRU THE PD. OUTLOOK... MON...MVFR WEST. VFR CENTRAL. MVFR BCMG VFR EAST. STG NNW WINDS. TUE...MVFR PSBL WEST. VFR CENTRAL/EAST. WED...VFR. && .CTP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM EST MONDAY FOR PAZ057>059- 064. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 PM EST MONDAY FOR PAZ065-066. && SYNOPSIS...LACORTE NEAR TERM...LACORTE SHORT TERM...LAMBERT LONG TERM...BEACHLER AVIATION...STEINBUGL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATE COLLEGE PA 323 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009 PAZ065-066-022030- YORK-LANCASTER- 323 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM EST MONDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER STORM WARNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER STORM WARNING. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO REPORT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE. PAZ057>059-064-022030- DAUPHIN-SCHUYLKILL-LEBANON-ADAMS- 323 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM EST MONDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV/STATECOLLEGE ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL MAY LAST THROUGH NOON MONDAY BEFORE TAPERING TO FLURRIES. NEXT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE REQUESTED TO REPORT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE. PAZ026>028-035-036-042-046-049>053-056-063-022030- HUNTINGDON-MIFFLIN-JUNIATA-FULTON-FRANKLIN-SULLIVAN- SOUTHERN LYCOMING-UNION-SNYDER-MONTOUR-NORTHUMBERLAND-COLUMBIA-PERRY- CUMBERLAND- 323 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. NEXT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. PAZ004>006-010>012-017>019-024-025-033-034-037-041-045-022030- WARREN-MCKEAN-POTTER-ELK-CAMERON-NORTHERN CLINTON-CLEARFIELD- NORTHERN CENTRE-SOUTHERN CENTRE-CAMBRIA-BLAIR-SOMERSET-BEDFORD-TIOGA- NORTHERN LYCOMING-SOUTHERN CLINTON- 323 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. NEXT CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION WILL BE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. BEACHLER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Six to eight inches of snow was reported across the southeastern half of Lancaster County, mainly along and south of Route 30.
Six to eight inches of snow was reported across the southeastern half of York County, mainly along and south of Route 30.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, March 2009
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: 149197, 149198.