Blizzard — Delaware, Pennsylvania

1996-01-07 to 1996-01-08 · Delaware, Pennsylvania

Wider weather episode

The Blizzard of '96, the second coined "STORM OF THE CENTURY" of this decade brought record breaking snow to most of Southeast Pennsylvania and paralyzed the region for several days, caused most municipalities to exceed their annual snow budgets during this one storm, caused several building collapses and caused directly or directly 42 deaths and countless injuries. Six persons died of hypothermia, 4 in Philadelphia, 1 in Delaware County and 1 in Lehigh County. Some were homeless persons, but one woman in Allentown accidentally locked herself out of her home. Twenty-nine persons suffered heart attacks and died while shoveling snow, using snowblowers or trying to walk in the deep snow. A Delaware County man died of carbon monoxide poisoning after his vehicle's tail pipe was not cleared of snow. Two persons in Philadelphia also died of carbon monoxide poisoning within their home. A snow-blocked fire hydrant contributed to the death of one person in a Bucks County fire. A Montgomery County man crashed and died in Upper Dublin Township on Pennsylvania State Route 309 when his vehicle struck an overpass. Another Montgomery County man died while he was riding on an inner tube and slid underneath a parked vehicle. The weight of the snow caused the collapse of a greenhouse in Exeter Township and killed one man. The number of deaths and injuries was reduced by the storm starting before dawn on Sunday with blizzard conditions in full force by the early afternoon. The storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico on the morning of the 6th, moved south of Alabama the evening of the 6th, reached Savannah Georgia the morning of the 7th, Cape Hatteras the evening of the 7th, moved just to the west of the Delaware Bay Buoy the morning of the 8th before reaching the Southern New England Coastal Waters the evening of the 8th. This was a classic a storm track for heavy snow. Precipitation was all snow in Pennsylvania. Snow began falling during the predawn hours on the 7th and became heavy at times during the morning. Blizzard conditions developed during the afternoon and evening as strong northeast winds developed around the intensifying low. There was a lull in the precipitation after midnight on the 8th, before some wraparound snow returned during the daylight hours.This was a very difficult snow to measure due to the strong winds and powdery nature of the snow. All-time single storm records were set at both the Lehigh Valley International Airport (25.6 inches) and Philadelphia International Airport (30.7 inches). It should be noted the 30.7 inches represents a SNOWFALL ESTIMATE. Due to the considerable blowing and drifting of the snow, the observers at the airport were forced to use a water equivalent/snowfall estimate table. The actual ACCUMULATION was probably less. Snowfall accumulations averaged 20 to 22 inches in Monroe and Carbon Counties, around 2 feet in Lehigh and Northampton Counties, 24 to 33 inches in Berks County, 20 to 26 inches in Chester and Delaware Counties, 20 to 30 inches in Montgomery and Bucks Counties and 27 inches in Philadelphia. Other individual accumulations included 33 inches in Ontelaunee Township (Berks), 30 inches in Reading (Berks) and Palm and Souderton (Montgomery), 28 inches in Perkasie (Bucks), 27 inches in Philadelphia (Franklin Institute) and 26 inches in Glenmoore (Chester).A state of emergency was declared on Sunday the 7th and wasn't lifted until 6 a.m. on Tuesday the 9th. The National Guard assisted the state with snow removals and rescues. Four wheel drive vehicles were used to transport emergency personnel and patients. Humvees were used to clear the larger drifts that reached as high as 15 feet in Chester County. There was no postal deliveries on the 8th. Some schools were closed the whole week. All major airports were closed. Philadelphia International had one runway open as of 6 pm on the 8th. The Reading Regional Airport was reopened on Tuesday the 9th. The snow was so deep on Philadelphia's side streets that plows were unable to go down them. This problem also affected firefighters. The blocked side streets helped contribute to a fire which cost two Philadelphia families their home. Homeless shelters in Phialdelphia set a new record. The unprecedented snow also caused numerous building collapses throughout the area, especially in Berks County. Some of the worse ones included the Atlas Roofing Company in Richland Township (Bucks County), the East Penn Manufacturing Company near Lyons (Berks County) and the Penn Crest Gardens Apartments in South Whitehall Township (Lehigh County). Thirty-five residents were evacuated from one building after the roof buckled.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5546162. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.