Blizzard warnings were posted yesterday, but it's not known yet whether the actual blizzard criteria -- three consecutive hours of snow with sustained winds of 35 m.p.h. and visibilities of a quarter-mile or less -- were met.
Undoubtedly, blizzard conditions existed at times, but documenting them will require some analysis, and the National Weather Service is investigating, said Gary Szatkowski, who runs the Mount Holly office.
Certified blizzard conditions haven't occurred in Philadelphia since March 1993. Blizzard-like conditions were common during the Jan. 7-8, 1996, storm, but officially it fell just short of the criteria.
In any event, the distinction between a blizzard and what we got is similar to the distinction between a tornado and straight-line tree damage. An uprooted tree doesn't care if it got ripped up by a straight-on wind or a wind going in circles.
This was an amazing storm, especially coming off what happened last weekend. Philadelphia just doesn't get 44-plus inches of snow in six days.
The landscapes today call to mind a favorite free-verse poem that appeared in a Bellows Falls, Vt., Times after the true Blizzard of 1888.
"No paths, no streets, no sidewalks, no light, no roads, no guests, no calls, no teams, no hacks, no trains, no moon, no meat, no milk, no paper, no mails, no news, no thing -- but snow."