What are the biggest snowstorms Centre County has seen this decade? Take a look back
A major winter system is expected to dump between 8 and 18 inches of snow on Centre County this weekend, with the potential to be the area’s biggest storm of the 21st century.
While the exact amount of snow expected is coming into focus, the storm has the potential to bring the most snowfall in a day since 1994.
The Centre Daily Times took a look at some of the biggest snowfalls in recent years.
Biggest snowstorm this decade: Dec. 17, 2020
Centre County was buried in more than 15 inches of snow just before the 2020 holiday season, sending school children home for a day and a half after what was the biggest single-day snowfall of the past 10 years.
The storm delivered the largest Dec. 17 snowfall on record in State College, dating back to the start of one-day measurements in 1893. Not only did the storm deliver the largest single-day snowfall in State College this decade, but it was also the 2020s’ largest overall snowstorm and the second largest of the 21st century.
According to reports at the time, responses to the storm were hampered by the pandemic, and newspaper deliveries were delayed by a day.
The storm was the last time the area saw more than 8 inches of snowfall in a single day.
Storm of the decade runner-up: Feb. 1 to 3, 2021
Snow lingered over three days in February 2021, giving the area the second-biggest snowstorm of the decade. Because it started on a Monday, children had an extra-long weekend, but had their school year extended into June.
Snowfall totaled 14.5 inches in State College and Millheim, while Philipsburg saw more than 13.
Double-digit honorable mentions
Jan. 7 to 10, 2024: 12.9 inches of snowfall recorded in Philipsburg, 6.1 inches in Millheim and 5 inches in State College.
March 14 to 16, 2017: 12.1 inches of snowfall recorded in Millheim, 10.4 inches in State College and 6.9 inches in Philipsburg.
Nov. 16, 2018: 11.5 inches of snowfall recorded in State College and 8.7 inches in Philipsburg and Millheim.
The last time we got 18 inches of snow in a day: March 3, 1994
Eighteen inches of snow — the high estimate for this weekend’s storm as of Friday — hasn’t fallen in a single day in over 30 years in Centre County. The March 3-4 snowstorm of 1994 dropped 26.6 inches of snow on State College in its first day, followed by an inch the next, making it the area’s second-largest storm ever recorded. Millheim saw 18 inches.
The storm — which also saw thunder — grounded planes and brought the local transit system to a halt, according to a contemporaneous Centre Daily Times report. The newspaper ran a graphic on its front showing the snowfall compared to John Amaechi, a 6-foot-10 center for Penn State’s basketball team at the time.
This story was originally published January 23, 2026 at 7:31 AM.
