Do you need a snowblower in Washington, PA?
What clears snow in Washington
Cordless single-stage
Plenty falls in Washington, about 4.1 tons a winter on this driveway, but it comes in shallow storms a small cordless machine can take in.
Before you buy, check the battery is rated to clear the whole driveway in one charge in the cold, or get a second battery. Batteries lose range below freezing.
A normal Washington winter
- Snow a year
- 32 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 0.6 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 10 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 41
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. About 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 4.1 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Washington
- Nov1.8
- Dec6.0
- Jan9.9
- Feb7.5
- Mar6.1
- Apr0.6
Snow worth clearing runs from November to March, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in October.
Washington and its neighbours
Washington is number 30 of 68 Pennsylvania towns here for snowfall; Erie gets the most at 104 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Park, PA | 15 | 32 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Jefferson Hills, PA | 18 | 21 in | A shovel is enough |
| Whitehall, PA | 19 | 25 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Baldwin, PA | 21 | 25 in | Cordless single-stage |
| West Mifflin, PA | 22 | 25 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Weirton, WV | 23 | 44 in | Cordless 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 Washington 3 NE, 3.1 miles from Washington. 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.