New York City, Philadelphia go record-breaking 22 months without an inch of snow

Major cities in the Northeast, like New York City and Philadelphia, have broken records regarding snowfall – but not because there’s too much of the white stuff. Instead, it’s because it has been nearly 22 months since those cities have seen an inch of snow in a single calendar day from a winter weather event.

That’s not the case everywhere in the Northeast, however.

Parts of the region, like western and central New York state, are experiencing the first significant lake-effect snowstorm of the season that could dump more than a foot of fresh powder by the middle of the week.

So, it’s cities up and down the Interstate 95 corridor that have dodged major snowstorms recently.

When will it snow in New York City? Philadelphia?

“The cold air is also the big question mark of when could the I-95 corridor see snow,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Amy Freeze said. “We get it in Watertown (New York). That’s a given. But when do we get it in places like Boston, Baltimore, (Philadelphia)? It’s been such a long time.”

The answer? Not anytime soon. There aren’t any significant winter weather events forecast for the Interstate 95 corridor except for cold temperatures this week.

Thus, the record-breaking snowless streaks will continue – for now.

Philadelphia’s snowless streak breaking records

It’s been almost two years – 22 months – since Philadelphia has received at least 1 inch of snow in a single calendar day.

This breaks the previous record of 661 days set back in 1973.

However, let’s be honest. When was the last time it snowed in Philadelphia in July?

“I will say this does include summertime,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “Which, you’re never going to have snow in summer in Philadelphia. We have two seasons where you can get snow included in this countdown. But we only saw a couple of opportunities for snow last year, both of which didn’t amount to much for any city in the Northeast.”

New York City’s snowless streak shattered

New York City, too, has broken its snowless streak – and by a large margin.

As of Monday, it’s been 652 days since the Big Apple picked up at least an inch of snow in a single calendar day. Central Park picked up 1.6 inches of snow on Feb. 13, 2022.

This breaks the previous streak of 383 days that ended in March 1998.

Many cities in the Northeast usually see their first measurable snowfall in November. Boston’s average first measurable snowfall is on Nov. 27, but it hasn’t happened yet. 

Maybe they’ll get in on the snow action in December when cities like New York City, Philadelphia and Washington usually see their first measurable snowfall.