Forecasters Issue Apologies as Pa. Spared From 'Snowmageddon2015'

It wasn’t the colossal storm that forecasters had predicted.

The winter storm that was anticipated to dump more than a foot of snow on the region didn’t materialize and Eastern Pennsylvania, including Bucks and Montgomery counties as well as Philadelphia, was spared from what had been dubbed on social media as #Snowmageddon2015.

With snow still falling on the region as of Tuesday morning, snow totals in Lower Bucks County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia were expected to be between 3 and 4 inches. The upper portion of Bucks County could see a bit more snow, with as much as 6 inches possible.

That was much less than the public believed was in store.

On Monday, forecasters predicted the snow event could paralyze the region, with more than a foot of accumulation possible. But by late Monday, when accumulation was sparse and the storm track had shifted further east than originally thought, forecasters began reducing their accumulation predictions.

A threat of 12 to 24 inches a day before dwindled overnight Tuesday to a likelihood of 2 to 4 inches of snow for much of the Philadelphia region.

PECO reported no power losses throughout Bucks and Montgomery counties. Less than 100 customers in Chester County were without power, according to the outage map.

Snow is expected to continue falling through Tuesday morning. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect in Eastern Pennsylvania through noon Tuesday. Less than an inch of new snow is expected to fall Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Meteorologists took to Twitter to issue apologies and explanations.

“My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public,” Gary Szatkowski of the National Weather Service in Mount Holly Tweeted early Tuesday. “You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn’t. Once again, I’m sorry.”

Philly.com’s John Bolaris called it a failure on the part of local forecasters.

“From a forecast standpoint, it’s been a failure, or better yet, a bust,” he wrote. “The morning commute will be very slick and tricky in the locations that get the accumulating snow, along with a very cold strong and gusty wind. The last of the snow will be ending with just some leftover flurries — and some egg on the face of us meteorologists.”