July snowfall Philadelphia Airport

July snowfall Philadelphia Airport

July snowfall Philadelphia Airport

Summer ‘snow’ in Philadelphia breaks a confusing 154-year-old record The report comes because weather service guidelines state hail is considered frozen precipitation, in the same category as snow.

Today’s Forecast for Philadelphia, PA
Morning

82°

Afternoon

90°

Evening
79°
Chance of Rain42%
Overnight
75°
Chance of Rain32%

It’s been a wild weather week across the northeastern U.S., but a report of snow in Philadelphia on Sunday amid extreme heat, thunderstorms and high winds raised more than a few eyebrows. Small hail fell in a thunderstorm at Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday afternoon, and the local National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey recorded the observation as snow. That’s because official weather service guidelines state hail is considered frozen precipitation, in the same category with snow, sleet and graupel. The small notation in the daily climate report may have gone unnoticed but for a pair of social media posts the weather service dropped on Monday morning.

It’s been a wild weather week across the northeastern U.S., but a report of snow in Philadelphia on Sunday amid extreme heat, thunderstorms and high winds raised more than a few eyebrows.

Weather Today in Philadelphia, PA
Feels Like
94°
5:46 am

8:26 pm

High / Low
–/74°
Wind
5 mph
Humidity
58%
Dew Point
71°
Pressure
29.80 in
UV Index
1 of 11
Visibility
10 mi
Moon Phase
Waxing Gibbous

Small hail fell in a thunderstorm at Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday afternoon, and the local National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey recorded the observation as snow. That’s because official weather service guidelines state hail is considered frozen precipitation, in the same category with snow, sleet and graupel.

The small notation in the daily climate report may have gone unnoticed but for a pair of social media posts the weather service dropped on Monday morning.

Daily Forecast

Today

/
74°
Chance of Rain55%
Thu 18
87°
/
66°
Chance of Rain24%
Fri 19
88°
/
69°
Chance of Rain1%
Sat 20
84°
/
69°
Chance of Rain30%
Sun 21
90°
/
72°
Chance of Rain14%

It’s been a wild weather week across the northeastern U.S., but a report of snow in Philadelphia on Sunday amid extreme heat, thunderstorms and high winds raised more than a few eyebrows. Small hail fell in a thunderstorm at Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday afternoon, and the local National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey recorded the observation as snow. That’s because official weather service guidelines state hail is considered frozen precipitation, in the same category with snow, sleet and graupel. The small notation in the daily climate report may have gone unnoticed but for a pair of social media posts the weather service dropped on Monday morning.

Weather forecast offices in Dallas/Fort Worth and Tallahassee told meteorologists earlier they do not report hail as snow.

Jim Zdrojewski, a climate services data program analyst at weather service headquarters, is not sure when the weather service decided to record hail as snow.

“We’ve recorded it this way for a long, long time, so that it maintains the continuity of the climate record,” Zdrojewski said.

The reporting forms have a column for precipitation and a column for snow. When hail is reported as “snow,” the office is supposed to note in an additional column that the “snow” was really hail.

Zdrojewski said he could not speak for the service’s 122 field offices and their individual dynamics. “We provide the instructions,” he said.

Offices that have never reported hail as snow may continue that tradition to maintain continuity in their local climate records, he said. He also noted a difference in the words “recorded” and “reported.”

Individual offices have “a little bit more flexibility in how they report things,” in their social media posts for example, he said.

Zdrojewski didn’t rule out bringing up the topic during a previously scheduled call with the regional climate program managers on Wednesday afternoon. But he did say: “We’re always open for suggestions on how to improve things.”

 

WEATHER ALERTS – What is our area?

Our area is our station’s Demographic Area and contains the following counties.

Pennsylvania: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia

Delaware: Kent, New Castle

New Jersey: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem

PENNSYLVANIA
All Counties in PA

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING Issued: July 17 at 3:32PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Warren; Morris; Hunterdon; Berks; Lehigh; Northampton; Western Chester; Western Montgomery; Upper Bucks

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING Issued: July 17 at 3:32PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: New Castle; Somerset; Middlesex; Western Monmouth; Mercer; Gloucester; Camden; Northwestern Burlington; Ocean; Southeastern Burlington; Delaware; Philadelphia; Eastern Chester; Eastern Montgomery; Lower Bucks

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH Issued: July 17 at 2:41PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Burlington, NJ; Camden, NJ; Gloucester, NJ; Hunterdon, NJ; Mercer, NJ; Middlesex, NJ; Monmouth, NJ; Morris, NJ; Ocean, NJ; Somerset, NJ; Sussex, NJ; Warren, NJ; Berks, PA; Bucks, PA; Carbon, PA; Chester, PA; Delaware, PA; Lehigh, PA; Monroe, PA; Montgomery, PA; Northampton, PA; Philadelphia, PA

HEAT ADVISORY Issued: July 17 at 4:52AM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Franklin; Perry; Dauphin; Lebanon; Cumberland; Adams; York; Lancaster

DELAWARE

All Counties in DE EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING Issued: July 17 at 3:32PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: New Castle; Somerset; Middlesex; Western Monmouth; Mercer; Gloucester; Camden; Northwestern Burlington; Ocean; Southeastern Burlington; Delaware; Philadelphia; Eastern Chester; Eastern Montgomery; Lower Bucks

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH Issued: July 17 at 2:41PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 10:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Kent, DE; New Castle, DE; Sussex, DE; Caroline, MD; Kent, MD; Queen Anne’s, MD; Talbot, MD; Atlantic, NJ; Cape May, NJ; Cumberland, NJ; Salem, NJ

NEW JERSEY – All Counties in NJ

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING Issued: July 17 at 3:32PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Warren; Morris; Hunterdon; Berks; Lehigh; Northampton; Western Chester; Western Montgomery; Upper Bucks

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING Issued: July 17 at 3:32PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Salem; Cumberland; Atlantic; Cape May

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING Issued: July 17 at 3:32PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: New Castle; Somerset; Middlesex; Western Monmouth; Mercer; Gloucester; Camden; Northwestern Burlington; Ocean; Southeastern Burlington; Delaware; Philadelphia; Eastern Chester; Eastern Montgomery; Lower Bucks

HEAT ADVISORY Issued: July 17 at 3:32PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Sussex; Eastern Monmouth

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH Issued: July 17 at 2:41PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 8:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Burlington, NJ; Camden, NJ; Gloucester, NJ; Hunterdon, NJ; Mercer, NJ; Middlesex, NJ; Monmouth, NJ; Morris, NJ; Ocean, NJ; Somerset, NJ; Sussex, NJ; Warren, NJ; Berks, PA; Bucks, PA; Carbon, PA; Chester, PA; Delaware, PA; Lehigh, PA; Monroe, PA; Montgomery, PA; Northampton, PA; Philadelphia, PA

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH Issued: July 17 at 2:41PM EDT Expiring: July 17 at 10:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Kent, DE; New Castle, DE; Sussex, DE; Caroline, MD; Kent, MD; Queen Anne’s, MD; Talbot, MD; Atlantic, NJ; Cape May, NJ; Cumberland, NJ; Salem, NJ

AIR QUALITY ALERT Issued: July 17 at 9:41AM EDT Expiring: Jul 17 11:00PM EDT Areas Affected: Middlesex; Western Monmouth; Eastern Monmouth; Mercer; Gloucester; Camden; Northwestern Burlington