Centre County could see 7 inches of snow Saturday. How much has fallen this year?

Despite 3.7 inches of snow in State College on Wednesday, there’s more to come.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for parts of central Pennsylvania, including Centre County. The warning will be in place from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Aaron Tyburski, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, predicts 5 to 7 inches of snow and winds up to 45 miles an hour.

Saturday’s storm could rival a Jan. 17th storm that brought more than 6 inches — the most snowfall of the season.

Due to high winds, driving conditions could be hazardous even once snow stops late Saturday afternoon.

“One of the main concerns with that is snow blowing back over plowed roadways,” Tyburski said. “So there might be an area where yes, it’s plowed and the roads are just wet and you’re driving along and all of a sudden where there’s an open field or something, the wind blows snow over the road and you quickly run into a snow covered road.”

In anticipation of the storm, Patton, Harris and College townships have declared snow emergencies effective 7 a.m. Saturday.

All vehicles must be removed from township streets and residents must clear sideways within 24 hours of snow stopping.

How much snow does Centre County usually get?

Despite the expected accumulation on Saturday, this year’s snowfall has been below average, Tyburski said.

Last winter Centre County received 45.7 inches of snow, with 25 inches falling in February alone, he said.

This season, Centre County has had 22.5 inches of snow, including Wednesday bringing more than 3.5 inches. Centre County typically receives an average of 43.8 inches

“Normally we’d be right around 37 inches so we are a little bit below for the winter,” Tyburski said.

Tyburski said February storms that brought sleet and freezing rain are to blame for lower snowfall levels.

Is this the last snow of the season?

No, snow could still come in later March or April, but temperatures are set to rise next week.

Tyburski predicts Centre County could see temperatures nearing 60 degrees late next week.

“We are making our way toward spring but we get these little like little punches of winter that try to kind of rear their ugly head as we tried to make it into spring,” Tyburski said.

This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 12:09 PM.