Snow matters: Amazing era continues
Snows of yesteryear having a hard time measuring up to modern standards.
Officially, Tuesday's storm is No. 15 on Philadelphia's all-time list, and No. 10 for single-day snow.
Philadelphia's snow records go back 130 years, but the all-time list has a distinctive modern, and 21st Century look.
Tuesday's official storm total of 13.5 inches measured in National Park and Philadelphia International Airport ranked as the 15th biggest snowfall in the period of record.
Of the top 15, six of them have occurred since 2003, and the 30.7 inches of Jan. 7-8, 1996, holds the all-time title.
As Peter Mucha on philly.com has pointed out, different areas of the region would have a different top 10 or 15 list.
Here we're confining our list to the official totals, which, however flawed, have been subject to review and quality controls.
Unquestionably, this has been an extraordinary era for snow in the Philadelphia region. As we've mentioned, between Feb. 7, 1967, and Jan. 20, 1978, Philadelphia didn't have a single snowfall of 7 inches or more.
Here are the top 15 official snowfalls in Philadelphia. One footnote: For the highest total in a single day, Tuesday's snow ranked No. 10.
Top 15 Snows:
30.7 Jan. 7-8, 1996
28.5 Feb. 5-6, 2010
23.2 Dec. 19-20, 2009
21.3 Feb. 11-12, 1983
21.0 Dec. 25-26, 1909
19.4 April 3-4, 1915
18.9 Feb. 11-13, 1899
18.7 Feb. 16-17, 2003
16.7 Jan. 22-24, 1935
15.8 Feb. 9-10, 2010
15.7 Jan. 26-27, 2011
14.6 Dec. 11-12, 1960
14.3 Feb. 18-19, 1979
14.1 Feb. 5-6-7, 1978
13.5 Jan. 21, 2014