Do you need a snowblower in Scranton, PA?
The machine for a Scranton driveway
Gas single-stage
Scranton gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 5.9 tons a winter on this driveway, but storms over 8 inches are uncommon.
Before you buy, check the intake height against the deepest storm above, and plan to clear before the city plow leaves its ridge of heavy slush at the end of the drive.
How much snow Scranton gets
- Snow a year
- 45 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.9 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 5 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 71
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. That is about 1.3 times what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 5.9 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Scranton
- Oct0.7
- Nov3.2
- Dec7.7
- Jan11.7
- Feb10.9
- Mar10.1
- Apr0.8
Snow worth clearing runs from November to March, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Towns near Scranton
Scranton is number 9 of 68 Pennsylvania towns here for snowfall; Erie gets the most at 104 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunmore, PA | 3 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Kingston, PA | 15 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Wilkes-Barre, PA | 15 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Nanticoke, PA | 22 | 36 in | Gas single-stage |
| Hazleton, PA | 35 | 42 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Berwick, PA | 39 | 36 in | Gas single-stage |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Wilkes-Barre International Airport, 5.8 miles from Scranton. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.
- Days with snow on the ground come from a second nearby station, because the closest one does not record snow depth.