4 March Nor'easters In PA: Which One Was The Worst?

March was an unprecedented month in terms of snowfall in the Philadelphia region, and across the Northeast.

Four — FOUR — nor'easter storms pummeled the region, bringing piles of snow, strong winds, cold temperatures and power outages. In some parts of the region, these storm rivaled records. The Weather Channel says the worst snowstorm to hit Philadelphia in March was in 1993, when a foot fell from March 13-14.

While the city did not report a foot in any of these four March storms, towns surrounding the city did. According to information from the National Weather Service, 16 inches fell in parts of Montgomery County during Wednesday's storm. And on March 7, 16 inches was measured in parts of Bucks County.

All of these storms seem to have now blended together into one big, miserable month of winter on steroids. Now all we want is spring.

But just for fun, let's recap the March mayhem. It began early in the month, with the first storm on March 2 and continued through this week.

MARCH 2

This was the one that was supposed to be mostly rain. But nooooooo. This nor'easter packed a bigger punch than initially expected. It ended up dumping a significant amount of snow across the Philadelphia region and caused widespread power outages. The morning after the storm, more than 300,000 PECO customers were without power and it was days before full restoration was completed.

As far as snow accumulation, some parts of Eastern Pennsylvania got walloped. In parts of the Poconos, nearly two feet of snow fell. In suburban Philadelphia, parts of Delaware and Montgomery county reported the highest totals. Nine inches fell in Wayne, Delaware County. Click here for snow totals from March 2.

MARCH 7

Heavy snow fell across the Philadelphia area on March 7, and at times, it came as fast as two inches per hour.
By the end of the storm, some suburban Philadelphia communities were left with a foot or more. The highest area total recorded was in Richboro, Bucks County, where 16 inches was measured. Click here for snow totals from March 7. That storm caused thousands of power outages, too. PECO reported 89,000 outages across its entire coverage area. The bulk of those were in Bucks County.

MARCH 13

This storm was not as bad as the other three. In Eastern Pennsylvania, there was little accumulation in the Philadelphia suburbs and little disruption in travel and transit. Parts of the Poconos reported three inches. Click here for coverage of the March 13 storm.

MARCH 21

The most recent storm, which happened Wednesday, March 21, brought another round of significant snowfall to the region. Some areas reported more than 16 inches of snow, which was what was predicted by the National Weather Service ahead of the region's fourth nor'easter this month. Power outages were minimal, however, and as of the morning after the storm, there were less than 300 outages across the entire PECO coverage area. Click here for March 21 snowfall totals.

Is this finally the last of the snow? It's hard to say for sure. Temperatures will linger in the 40s for the rest of the week. Highs in the low 50s are predicted early next week.

Photo by David Allen