PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Meteorologists say atmospheric conditions over the next three months could result in a lot more snow than the Philadelphia area has seen over the past few winters.
Some models suggest snowfall could be as much as 75 times higher than last winter’s 0.3 inches, which would bring us close to Philadelphia’s average of 21.7 inches per year.
In addition to El Niño in the Pacific, Sarah Johnson, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says researchers are paying attention to how warm ocean temperatures on the East Coast will affect the winter months.
“We have seen warmer than normal temperatures here in the Atlantic basin,” she said. “Now, that is not connected to El Niño, but that is something we’re watching because we’re not quite sure how that’s going to interact with what El Niño typically sends up.”
While many in the region are used to dealing with winter conditions, Johnson says they may be thrown off this season. She explained, “2020-21 was about a normal year in terms of snowfall, but other than that, we haven’t really had a near- or above-normal year since going back to [the winter of] 2017-18.”
The NWS forecasts a jump in precipitation — though not necessarily snow — and says you should keep an emergency kit in the car. Johnson recommends including food, water, blankets and a snow shovel.
“Even last year, when we had 0.3 inches of snow, we still had some periods where we had some freezing rain in some areas,” Johnson said. “Just because you have little snow doesn’t mean [there are] no hazards.”