Teresa BoeckelYork Daily Record
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Update at 12:30 p.m. Saturday: Snow has started falling in central Pennsylvania.
York County could receive one to three inches south of Route 30 and three to five inches north of Route 30, according to the National Weather Service.
Some spots in northern York County could get seven inches, the weather service said.
A winter storm warning remains in effect for Lebanon and other counties with a potential accumulation of six to eight inches, the weather service says.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation has reduced the speed limit to 45 m.p.h. on interstates 83, 81 and 283 and routes including 15, 30, and 581.
Update at 8:45 p.m. Friday: The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for York County and a winter storm warning for Lebanon County.
It is calling for a total of one to three inches with a light ice glaze in York County on Saturday. Slippery road conditions are expected, the weather service says.
Meanwhile, a total of four to seven inches of snow is predicted Lebanon and other counties in central Pennsylvania.
Update earlier on Friday: A winter storm watch has been issued for York and Lebanon counties, the National Weather Service says.
Four to six inches of snow could fall in both counties, the weather service says.
Travel conditions are expected to be the worst Saturday afternoon and evening when an inch or more of snow could fall within a hour, the watch states. This will be the case especially north and west of the City of York.
Accumulations will be reduced, especially in the southeastern part of York County, because of mixed precipitation, the weather service says.
Kyle Elliott, director of the Weather Information Center at Millersville University, has predicted the snowfall amounts across the region, and it shows that higher amounts will likely fall in Lebanon County and northern York County.
Update on Thursday: The National Weather Service says York County could see two to six inches of snow. The lower amount will be in the southern end of the county while the northern portion could get five to six inches, meteorologist Michael Colbert said.
Lebanon County could see three to six inches, he said. There's a small chance for up to eight inches if heavy precipitation falls and it is all snow.
AccuWeather.com senior meteorologist Tom Kines said the area is going to be close to the rain and snow boundary.
AccuWeather.com is predicting two to four inches for York and Lebanon counties, Kines said.
The storm is expected to arrive between sunrise and 10 a.m. Saturday and continue into Sunday. Temperatures will be in the mid-20s at the beginning, which will result in snow, Colbert said.
The mercury is expected to rise to just above freezing on Saturday afternoon, and the precipitation will likely change to a mix of snow and rain, Colbert said. Lingering snow showers are in the forcast for Sunday morning.
The wintry weather is anticipated to impact travel Saturday afternoon into the evening, meteorologists said.
Meanwhile, meteorologists are keeping their eye on another storm that could arrive Tuesday and start as snow or a wintry mix, Colbert said. The precipitation is expected to change over to rain as temperatures rise.
Residents should keep checking on the forecast with official weather agencies for the latest on the storms, he said.
Reported on Jan. 2:
Half a foot of snow could fall in south-central Pennsylvania this weekend, marking the first time in a few years that the area has seen a significant snowfall.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service and AccuWeather.com say the potential exists for the storm to deliver six inches of snow on Saturday into Sunday.
"It's definitely in the early stages of this forecast and a lot of uncertainty," National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Colbert said.
What's the timing of the storm?
The storm is expected to arrive Saturday afternoon with the heaviest precipitation falling that evening into the overnight hours, said Dan Pydynowski, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.com. He expects that much of the storm will wrap up on Sunday morning.
"It's a quick-moving storm system," he said.
The storm will have a fair amount of moisture with it, and it's expected to deliver a plowable snow and impact travel, Pydynowski said. Some areas could see six inches.
The type and amount of precipitation will depend on the track of the storm, Colbert said. At this time, it looks like the temperatures will be cold enough for mostly snow.
If the storm track is closer to the coast, the chances for rain mixing in is higher, he said. If it moves farther east, snow will still fall, but the accumulation will be less.
If the storm delivers all snow, the area could receive 6 inches or more, Colbert said.
Kyle Elliott, director of the Weather Information Center at Millersville University, said it's too early to get specific with the snowfall amounts.
"At this point, a 'light-to-moderate' snowfall event is possible this weekend, but there is still a good deal of uncertainty with the system's track and intensity," he wrote in an email. "Both of these will be critical in determining snowfall amounts across south-central PA."
Unlike most "big snowstorms" in the region, this one will move faster because the Jet Stream ridge will be east of Greenland, he said. It will not slow down the storm.
Temperatures will be marginal and hover around 32 degrees, he said. Because of that and "a narrow tongue of warmer air several thousand feet above the ground, snow may mix with or change over to sleet and/or rain during the height of the storm."
"In my opinion, this possibility is currently the most likely outcome, and it would result in lower overall snowfall totals," he wrote.
Meteorologists say they will have a better forecast on the storm on Thursday.
When was the last snow of 6 inches or more?
It's been a couple of years since a storm delivered a significant snowfall across the area, Colbert said.
Records show Harrisburg International Airport recorded 5.5 inches from a storm on Jan. 6 and 7 in 2022.
Before that, the airport recorded 8.2 inches of snow from a storm on Feb. 1 and 2, 2021.
Last year was a mild winter. Total snowfall ranged from less than half an inch fell near Delta to around 7 inches in the Dillsburg area,Elliott said at the time.
York County normally averages more than two feet of snow during the winter.
