Snow? (Philadelphia, Chambersburg, Washington: live, moving, oil)

[jeepejeep]

I know this year was bad just about everywhere but in general where in PA gets the least amount of snow?

[bradjl2009]

Southeastern PA and Philadelphia.

[fisheye]

In general bradjl2009 is right. However; snow is usually about altitude and proximity to the coast. Usually, the higher you go; the more snow you get. Usually; the ocean moderates the temperatures - however; nor’easters can turn the tables on the flat landers close to the ocean.

The winter, before this last winter, my sisters in Baltimore and Washington got hammered. That is usually not normal.

Sometimes just a few feet in altitude can make all the difference. I live at 1345 feet above sea level. I usually get snow long before a city only fifteen miles to my south (they are at about 600 feet above sea level). Communities at 1800 and 1900 feet above sea level get more snow than I do. A fuel oil company told me that they figured about five degrees difference between the 600 and 1800 feet above sea level communities.

[teachbeach]

brad is about right, but there is no consistency with snowfall in southern/southeastern PA. At times Philly take the hit of the stuff coming up the coast/95 corridor, where the southcentral will just get a residual from that same storm. Other times the southcentral valley will take the hit while Philly will be spared.
Check some weather/snow history websites to see that you can't predict Mother Nature. The good thing is that, for the most part, we dig out pretty quickly and are rarely housebound for any great lengths of time.

[jeepejeep]

Thank you for the responses. I'm thinking about the south central part of PA so I'll be checking that out. Just one of the way too many things to think about when moving from another state!

[ki0eh]

Chambersburg and most of Franklin County, together with the lower elevation portions of Fulton and Bedford counties, may get the least snow of all of PA. As you get more inland the nor'easter storm dumps get less; as you pass over the highest elevation portions of the Allegheny Front west of US 220 the lake-effect and lake-enhanced snows go away; and the further south and lower elevation the less likely it is to get clipper snow. My in-laws in a sheltered cove in southeastern Bedford County seem almost never to have XC skiable snow although snow does sometimes cap the nearby ridges. Even Adams County seems to get hit by the nor'easters more than Franklin judging by the news reports.