Have you stocked up on milk, bread and eggs yet?
For whatever reason, racing to the grocery store for the ingredients for French toast seems to be the reaction around here when a snowstorm is brewing. Don’t forget maple syrup.
It also is a good time to stock up on shear pins, make sure the snowblower still works and buy a new shovel. Have your hat, gloves and winter coat at the ready.
Predicting how much snow we will get this weekend is tricky because conditions change.
But the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch from Saturday evening through Monday afternoon and said there is a 90% chance it will snow on Sunday.
As central Pennsylvania prepares for this first significant snow of the winter, here’s a look back at the top 10 biggest snowstorms in terms of the amount of snowfall to hit our area. Some of these are still talked about to this day.
Jan. 22-23, 2016
30.2 inchesThis was winter storm Jonas that hit on a Friday into Saturday. On Friday, in advance of the snowstorm’s arrival, the National Weather Service was estimating a 12- to 18-inch snowfall for central Pennsylvania. Later that day, it issued a blizzard warning. Soon forecasters were upping the snowfall estimates considerably.
Feb. 11-13, 1983
25 inchesThis storm hit Friday through Sunday and buried areas along the Eastern Seaboard. The Patriot wrote, “A ‘dangerous and powerful’ snowstorm packing 40 mph winds buried the city and much of the East Coast yesterday. By 10 p.m. the storm had dumped 21 inches of snow, a record for a single snowfall in the area.” On Feb. 13, The Sunday Patriot-News reported the total from the National Weather Service was 25 inches – “the most the city has received from one storm in weather service history.”
Feb. 17-19, 2003
23 inchesThis President’s Day weekend storm dumped as much as 4 feet of snow on parts of the Northeast, according to the Associated Press. Locally, The Patriot reported, “A day after the region’s worst winter storm in seven years, midstaters forged ahead to get out from under the elements that brought their lives to a standstill.” Two deaths were reported in Lancaster County. Rising temperatures following the storm led to concerns about flooding. The Patriot reported the snow total was 23 inches for Harrisburg. The Patriot reported the highest amount locally was 31 inches in Enola.
The residents of Briggs Street in
Harrisburg turn out to clean up their street and dig out after the storm, Jan. 9, 1996. (Peter R. Rekus, The Patriot-News, file)Harrisburg Patriot-News
Jan. 8-9, 1996
22.2 inchesThe Patriot’s headline was “Blast paralyzes midstate. The worst January snowstorm in the city’s history.” This blizzard dumped up to 4 feet of snow on some places on the East Coast. More than 30 inches of snow fell in Philadelphia, most of it coming in just 24 hours. A warmup later in the month led to massive flooding and on Jan. 21, part of the Walnut Street bridge floated away.
Jan. 16-17, 1945
21 inchesThe Patriot reported that Harrisburg was “buried” during this storm. “Already in the midst of one of its worst winters in history, central Pennsylvania was snowed under yesterday by a record-shattering 21-inch snowfall which closed schools and business places, crippled transportation facilities for many hours and brought virtually everything to a standstill.”
Feb. 19-20, 1964
20.8 inchesOn Feb. 20, The Patriot reported that central Pennsylvania was ‘caught off guard by the winter’s worst snowstorm … The surprise storm, sweeping in from the south, dumped 20 inches of snow on Harrisburg.” Other areas around the state received up to 30 inches of snow from the storm.
The 1993 blizzard left 20.4 inches of snow in the area, March 13-15. (Allied Pix for The Patriot-News, file) Allied Pix for The Patriot-News
March 13-15, 1993
20.4 inchesThis was known as the “Storm of the Century” that included high wind that whipped the snow into drifts and created whiteout conditions. This storm “roared into the midstate” with high winds and snow measured in feet rather than inches. “Dumping snow at the rate of 4 inches an hour, the storm threatened to surpass the worst midstate storm on record – one that dropped 25 inches on Feb. 11-12, 1983.”
Jan. 20-21, 1961
18.7 inchesThis storm included bitter cold during and after with temperatures not getting any higher than 20 degrees. The low during the storm was -1. The Patriot reported the “tremendous” storm brought “the biggest single snow in the city’s history except for the 21 inches on Jan. 15-16, 1945. The Associated Press reported 33 people died on the East Coast, 15 of those in Pennsylvania.
Jan. 13-14, 1964
18.1 inchesThis storm hit on the first day of the Farm Show. The Patriot reported, “Crippling snowstorm closes city schools. The most crippling snowstorm of the fledgling year lashed at Harrisburg and central Pennsylvania last night and early today, slowing traffic everywhere and turning many main streets and highways into hazardous skidways.”
Feb. 5-6, 2010
18 inchesCentral Pennsylvania again was “buried” by snow with totals that were higher than expected. Forecasters had called for 6 to 12 inches of snow. Mechanicsburg had 22.5 inches and Newberry Twp. reported 21 inches. The biggest story during this storm was the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Several tractor-trailers jackknifed just west of the Somerset interchange. Several hundred cars might have been idled along a 5-mile stretch, and some drivers reported being stranded for 12 hours or longer. The National Guard was deployed to deliver water and meals to stranded drivers.The first half of February was called “Snowpocalypse” and “Snowmageddon.” A second storm Feb. 9-10 dumped another 16 inches of snow on Harrisburg. 
Joe Scheffey of Camp Hill clears a path in his driveway, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010. (The Patriot-News)THE PATRIOT-NEWS
Other notable storms:
March 27-28, 1891 – 18 inches
Feb. 19-20, 1921 – 15 inches
Jan. 19-20, 1936 – 14 inches
Feb. 4-5, 1920 – 14 inches
Jan. 28, 1943 – 12.2 inches