Snow, lighter than expected, spreads across region

Schools closed early, and after Sunday morning's debacle, the region's road crews were poised for an all-out battle with nature.

Yet even as meteorologists warned of another storm threat for the weekend, with a potential nor'easter, Wednesday's snowfall totals were less than expected, and the forecasts evidently had more impact than the actual weather.

In anticipation of an expected two to three inches of snow, several school districts decided to close early.

By early evening, no major problems had been reported, though state police in Avondale said several accidents had occurred in southern Chester County, where the snowfall was a bit more robust.

But overall, the "clipper" storm wasn't as potent as expected, and to the north, dry air put up such a battle that flakes had a hard time covering the ground.

Parts of South Jersey and Delaware received close to three inches, the National Weather Service reported. Philadelphia recorded about a half-inch, while Garnet Valley, in Delaware County, topped the Pennsylvania suburbs with 0.8 of an inch.

The weather did cause some problems. A number of flights to or from Philadelphia International Airport were canceled, while some others scheduled to fly to Philadelphia were held on the ground, causing delays.

PATCO reported delays of up to 15 minutes in both directions.

The light snowfall came three days after regional highway agencies were caught off guard when a combination of rain and freezing temperatures caused icing on roadways, triggering a spate of multi-vehicle accidents that claimed the lives of three men.

The weather service had not issued a freezing-rain advisory until about 7 a.m., after the roads had iced.

Gary Szatkowski, meteorologist in charge of the service in Mount Holly, said the agency was conducting a review of what went wrong.

Although the forecasts for the Wednesday snow were overdone, Szatkowski said, that outcome was preferable to Sunday's.

"Obviously we want the forecast to be perfect," he said, but "this is far better than what we had Sunday."