Boreal

Far to the east in Bangor PA (elev. 675’) 33.6° T / 31.3 D with steady snow

5 minutes ago, mitchnick said:

I justcrealized the Nam maps are 10:1. Kuchie are even worse.

Looks like sleet/zr is impacting NAM totals particularly in MD/LSV.  It will be telling how long the snow holds on down your way.  
PS: appreciate all the reports from this group. 

Bangor PA  28.6°/27.1°

Moderate Snow   4.75”

17 minutes ago, Hurricane Agnes said:

I am just posting model images for the benefit of this subforum for people to look at since there are those who lurk here who are watching the play by plays and who have expressed a desire to "learn". I have given no weight or "analysis" of which one(s) I think is "correct".  They all constitute "data points", nothing more, nothing less.

Keep it up. Much appreciated. 

26 minutes ago, Albedoman said:

Ironic, they rely heavily on the Euro models in the discussion but fail to warn  almost a million people who live "on the fringe". The greater Lehigh Valley metro area has a larger population than most areas in the midwest.  Makes no sense. The Lehigh Valley has the most dangerously traveled  road in PA - I-78/RT 22/ RT 309 corridor. Its already snowing and Mt Holly should at least be precautionary and not reactionary as there are way too many residents/drivers who rely on an accurate warning system.  The Lehigh Valley metro is not hicksville rural areas anymore and they need to be more precautionary, thats all.  The "I told you so  syndrome" is about to come out of the closet again.  Sorry for my rant but 25+ years of seeing this same scenario unfolding  is frustrating. 

 

So true that Rt 78 is always a mess in any weather, especially Lehigh-Berks portion. Per the latest AFD Mt. Holly seems to be aware of the potential for some increased snow totals in the NW 1/3 of the forecast area:  “…My current feeling is that totals on the coast may be a little on the high side given a potential positive snow-ratio forecast bias, but may be a little on the low side in the northwest CWA (where snow ratios may be higher, and where forecasts have trended west with QPF in recent model suites).…”. Today’s snow has been in the forecast for many forecast cycles, but it’s far too little to warrant an advisory, and also may be too far removed from the potential additional snowfall tomorrow to even get the area to advisory level snows (the NWS criteria is 3” in 12 hours).    I am more frustrated seeing the potential big snows to the east than by anything else, but hopefully some of the modeled snow trends continue and we get to join the party. 

25 minutes ago, WarrenCtyWx said:

I'm puzzled by some of those measurements. There was a report of 31.3" by a trained spotter literally a mere 2 miles from my house. I don't think we ever had more than 20-22" on the ground at one time here. Even taking compaction into account, it seems like such a considerable difference.

In a long duration event like this one, melting, sublimation, wind and compaction ongoing during the event can help maintain a decent disparity between snow depth and total snowfall.  

Personally, I am not a trained spotter, but I am a vigilant and am fairly precise while attempting to follow the NWS guidelines for snow measurement. I am long time winter weather enthusiast and strive to maintain accurate records for posterity. Interestingly enough, my personal experience in this storm sounds very similar to what you described above. I measured a storm total of 30.3” at my location.  I later learned that a trained spotter from the same municipality reported 30.5” from the event. I also happened to record a time lapse video for the duration of the event, focused on my snow stake which shows 1 inch increments up to 24”.  The snow depth at the stake never quite made it to 22”.  

While there may be some exaggeration out there and even intentional misrepresentation of snowfall figures, I think most folks on this and similar forums do an honorable job in reporting their totals.