Is Pittsburgh really snowy? (Indiana: neighborhood, living, suburbs)

[EddieOlSkool]

I am on a comparison of cities high right now. I am looking at snow. Now, looking at Sperling's Best Places shows me that Pittsburgh gets an average of 29.7 inches of snow a year. Compared to my hometown of Chicago, that's just 2 inches more than us. Interestingly I never thought of Pittsburgh getting more snow than Chicago because of its proximity to the South.

However, I don't classify a city as being snowy necessarily by inches. To me, a city that gets snowstorms frequently is more snowy than a city that gets its snow inch by inch and is spread out evenly (aka doesn't cause that much of an inconvenience).

I have read that Pittsburgh rarely gets blizzards. I am from Chicago and big snowstorms that dump huge snow on the ground are common. Then after that we just get cold for weeks and then big snow again.

Is Pittsburgh's snow more evenly spread out? Also, does the snow of Pittsburgh cause inconvenience to residents? In Chicago it does because of the large dumps that we get, not necessarily because of the average inches per year.

[TheYO]

Pittsburgh's snow is more evenly spread out. We rarely get more than a couple inches at a time. However, even a little snow can be a major problem here because of the hills. I live in one of the few flat parts of the city, so I've never had an issue commuting with the snow, and it's easy for the plows to clean my entire neighborhood. If you live/work in one of the hilly areas, snow can be a bigger issue because it's much more difficult to clear the roads.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

I am on a comparison of cities high right now. I am looking at snow. Now, looking at Sperling's Best Places shows me that Pittsburgh gets an average of 29.7 inches of snow a year. Compared to my hometown of Chicago, that's just 2 inches more than us. Interestingly I never thought of Pittsburgh getting more snow than Chicago because of its proximity to the South.

However, I don't classify a city as being snowy necessarily by inches. To me, a city that gets snowstorms frequently is more snowy than a city that gets its snow inch by inch and is spread out evenly (aka doesn't cause that much of an inconvenience).

I have read that Pittsburgh rarely gets blizzards. I am from Chicago and big snowstorms that dump huge snow on the ground are common. Then after that we just get cold for weeks and then big snow again.

Is Pittsburgh's snow more evenly spread out? Also, does the snow of Pittsburgh cause inconvenience to residents? In Chicago it does because of the large dumps that we get, not necessarily because of the average inches per year.

That's even incorrect. Pittsburgh gets 42" a year. Its not brutal though. Its probably slightly warmer than Chicago.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

I am on a comparison of cities high right now. I am looking at snow. Now, looking at Sperling's Best Places shows me that Pittsburgh gets an average of 29.7 inches of snow a year. Compared to my hometown of Chicago, that's just 2 inches more than us. Interestingly I never thought of Pittsburgh getting more snow than Chicago because of its proximity to the South.

However, I don't classify a city as being snowy necessarily by inches. To me, a city that gets snowstorms frequently is more snowy than a city that gets its snow inch by inch and is spread out evenly (aka doesn't cause that much of an inconvenience).

I have read that Pittsburgh rarely gets blizzards. I am from Chicago and big snowstorms that dump huge snow on the ground are common. Then after that we just get cold for weeks and then big snow again.

Is Pittsburgh's snow more evenly spread out? Also, does the snow of Pittsburgh cause inconvenience to residents? In Chicago it does because of the large dumps that we get, not necessarily because of the average inches per year.

Pittsburgh is usually less hard-hit by Nor'Easters than Eastern seaboard-proximate cities, but blizzards definitely do happen. Unlike many Eastern seaboard-proximate cities, however, Pittsburgh does experience much more in the way of minor snow showers in between the big storms.

Originally Posted by speagles84

That's even incorrect. Pittsburgh gets 42" a year. Its not brutal though. Its probably slightly warmer than Chicago.

Pittsburgh's moderately warmer than Chicago during the winter (5 degrees on a given day) and about the same during the summer.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

I am on a comparison of cities high right now. I am looking at snow. Now, looking at Sperling's Best Places shows me that Pittsburgh gets an average of 29.7 inches of snow a year. Compared to my hometown of Chicago, that's just 2 inches more than us. Interestingly I never thought of Pittsburgh getting more snow than Chicago because of its proximity to the South.

Well, to be fair Pittsburgh is 1 degree latitude further South than Chicago. It's further North than places like Indianapolis, and about even with Columbus.

But yeah, I'd say it's more of the annoying 1-2 inches at a time type.

[BarqCider]

living within the city itself( east end) I didn't find it an issue to drive around and found penndot clearing the roads in time.

Now I don't know about the outer city rings or suburbs. I know many here have posted that driving the highways it was treacherous. coming from the dc area, I found we ended up getting more snow overall, but less at a time than they did.


I enjoyed it though and no, I have yet to see people get in fights regarding clearing a parking spot here( sure, some place chairs but not that aggressive like chitown lol)

[ny789987]

The snow is a nuisance. There is nothing like struggling to get to work on a Monday morning, sliding sideways down a black ice covered hill, and then watching the five day forecast and seeing snow spread out as far as the eye can see. The summers and fall here are heaven and more than make up for it. Enjoy it while it lasts.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

The snow is definitely spread out. These past few years (aside from Snowmageddon) blizzards have been a rarity but two inches here and two inches there is really common. Winters here are quite long as well as this year's winter lasted from November through April. We don't really get much of a Fall or Spring.

Also, the city is less than 250 miles from the Canadian border so it's not really "south" by any means.

[Bong477]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

However, I don't classify a city as being snowy necessarily by inches. To me, a city that gets snowstorms frequently is more snowy than a city that gets its snow inch by inch and is spread out evenly (aka doesn't cause that much of an inconvenience).

Pittsburgh is definitely the second category. Small amounts are frequent, big storms far less common (but obviously do happen here and there).

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Winters here are quite long as well as this year's winter lasted from November through April. We don't really get much of a Fall or Spring.

Also, the city is less than 250 miles from the Canadian border so it's not really "south" by any means.

What? We get a very long fall most years and if we don't get a spring, it's usually because it gets hot in April. I've been here ten years now and only this last winter was comparable to a Midwestern winter in terms of cold and length. The parka that I wore as my main coat from at least three months every Nebraska winter had only been worn maybe five times in Pittsburgh before this winter.

It has got very little to do with how far south you are. London is way north of Toronto and not even in the same league weather wise.