Science Snapshots: No, Philadelphia did not get July snow
Manorites, I'm briefly coming out of parental leave from writing for the Manor to express my outrage at the headlines. "Snow reported at Philadelphia International Airport in the middle of July: NWS" "It Snowed in Philadelphia Sunday: National Weather Service" "Philadelphia International Airport sees snow in July" "Philadelphia sets record for snow in July" Did the US National Weather Service report a trace of snow on July 14, 2024? Yes. Does that technically set a record? Yes. Did it actually snow? NOOOOOOOOO. What you'll see in all these click-baity articles is that once you get past the headlines, it HAILED. HAIL, MY HORS. via GIPHY This all comes down to a peculiarity with reporting criteria that is frankly, dumb. Thunderstorms that came through Philadelphia on Sunday hailed enough to leave a trace (that's <0.4 in or less depth - 10 mm for the smarter 98% of the planet) of frozen precipitation, i.e., hail, on the surface. And f