Do you need a snowblower in Wilkes-Barre, PA?
What clears snow in Wilkes-Barre
Gas single-stage
Wilkes-Barre 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 Wilkes-Barre 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
- 52
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 Wilkes-Barre
- 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.
Wilkes-Barre and its neighbours
Wilkes-Barre is number 10 of 68 Pennsylvania towns here for snowfall; Erie gets the most at 104 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston, PA | 1 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Nanticoke, PA | 7 | 36 in | Gas single-stage |
| Scranton, PA | 15 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Dunmore, PA | 18 | 45 in | Gas single-stage |
| Hazleton, PA | 21 | 42 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Berwick, PA | 24 | 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, 9.8 miles from Wilkes-Barre. 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.