There’s something about March snowstorms in Pennsylvania. The anniversaries of three storms specifically are all within a few days of each other, and all three are some of the biggest storms to ever hit our area.
The Blizzard of 1993 was and still is referred to as the Storm of the Century. The storm formed on March 12, and by the next day, on March 13, the WNEP Backyard recorded just under 19 inches of snow. Some parts of our area saw closer to three feet of snow, and strong winds caused incredible snowdrifts. The 1993 blizzard cancelled the Scranton St. Patrick’s Day Parade that year.
In 2022, the parade was postponed again due to snow. The Scranton area received seven inches on March 12, but the following week, the parade went off in downtown Scranton in sunshine and 70 degrees.
24 years and one day after the Storm of the Century came the Blizzard of 2017. That one is often referred to as Winter Storm Stella. The snow started to fall on the night of March 13, and on March 14, the WNEP backyard recorded more than 22 inches of snow. This March snowstorm broke the record for most snow ever recorded in a single day in the Scranton area. The record it beat? The March 1993 snowstorm. And nine years later, that record still holds for Scranton.
A March snowstorm we don’t talk about as often is one that happened this week in 1958. It’s hard to find photos and information for that snowstorm since it was so long ago, but the National Weather Service reports parts of the Poconos received more than 30 inches of snow between March 18 and March 21, still the greatest amount ever in the state of Pennsylvania for a single snowstorm.
This storm reached Blizzard criteria for parts of the Poconos, but was very elevation dependent, so much of Eastern PA didn’t see anywhere near the amount of snow places like Stroudsburg and Gouldsboro recorded, but still nearly a foot of snow fell this week in 1958 in Scranton.