Pennsylvania, 2011Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 26, 2011
January 26, 2011 · NWS CTP · 9 events in 9 counties and zones
A fast-moving but intense winter storm moved through the region. This system brought moderate to heavy snow to the southern tier of central Pennsylvania, with accumulations ranging between 6 and 10 inches.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 9
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.
A fast-moving but intense winter storm moved through the region. This system brought moderate to heavy snow to the southern tier of central Pennsylvania, with accumulations ranging between 6 and 10 inches. The rapid strengthening of the surface low pressure system offshore the Mid-Atlantic coast produced thunder-snow and intense snowfall rates within narrow bands wrapping north-westward from the low center. An initial period of light snow occurred early in the morning, followed by a several hour lull in the precipitation. The bulk of the accumulations occurred between 1600 and 2200 EDT. The snow briefly mixed with sleet and freezing rain during the mid afternoon in the Lower Susquehanna Valley.
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 State College, PA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 26, 5:47 AM EST, 1 hour 13 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 26, 5:47 AM EST, 1 hour 13 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, Jan 26, 3:06 AM EST, 3 hours 54 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>Heavy Snow, Lancaster
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- Lancaster forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 40.042, -76.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals ranged between 6 and 10 inches, with the heaviest amounts over the southern half of the county. There was a brief period of sleet and freezing rain during the early afternoon. Thunder-snow was observed during the evening accompanied by intense snowfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour.
Heavy Snow, York
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- York forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 39.920, -76.726 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals ranged between 6 and 10 inches, with the heaviest amounts over the southern half of the county. There was a brief period of sleet and freezing rain during the early afternoon. Thunder-snow was observed during the evening accompanied by intense snowfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour.
Heavy Snow, Adams
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- Adams forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 39.872, -77.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals ranged between 6 and 8 inches, with the heaviest amounts over the southern half of the county. There was a brief period of sleet and freezing rain during the early afternoon. Thunder-snow was observed during the evening accompanied by intense snowfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour.
Heavy Snow, Franklin
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- Franklin forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 39.927, -77.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals ranged between 6 and 8 inches, most of which fell during the evening hours.
Heavy Snow, Fulton
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- Fulton forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 39.925, -78.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals ranged between 6 and 8 inches, most of which fell during the evening hours.
Heavy Snow, Bedford
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- Bedford forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 40.007, -78.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals ranged between 6 and 8 inches, most of which fell during the evening hours.
Heavy Snow, Somerset
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- Somerset forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 39.972, -79.028 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals ranged between 6 and 8 inches, most of which fell during the evening hours.
Heavy Snow, Dauphin
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- Dauphin forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 40.415, -76.779 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals up to 6 inches were observed in the southern half of the county. The bulk of the heavy snow fell during the evening hours, with snowfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour.
Heavy Snow, Lebanon
- When
- January 26, 7:00 AM EST to 11:38 PM EST
- Where
- Lebanon forecast zone
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 40.367, -76.458 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Snowfall totals up to 6 inches were observed in the southern half of the county. The bulk of the heavy snow fell during the evening hours, with snowfall rates between 1 and 2 inches per hour.
- 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.
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Delaware, January 26 to 27, 20111 death · 5 injured · 3 events
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 26, 20111 death · 36 events
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Kentucky, January 26, 20111 death · 1 injured · $10,000 · 27 events
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 26 to 27, 20111 death · 17 events
- Winter Storm in District of Columbia, January 26, 20111 death · 1 event
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in New Jersey, January 26 to 27, 20112 injured · $100,000 · 21 events
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, January 26, 2011$75,000 · 9 events
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, January 26 to 27, 201122 events
- Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, January 26 to 27, 201119 events
- Winter Weather in Virginia, January 26 to 27, 201119 events
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, January 26 to 27, 201118 events
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 26 to 27, 20111 injured · 10 events
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: 270324, 270325, 270326, 270327, 270328, 270329, 270330, 270331, 270332.