A storm moved quickly across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic States on Wednesday the 5th. These storms that move quickly from West to East and drop out of Central Canada are termed "Alberta Clippers," as they move fast like the old clipper ships did, and they come from/near Alberta Province, and typically produce snow. The snow they produce is usually fluffy, light, powdery snow, with low water-content (and high snow:water ratios). This Clipper was no exception, with S:W ratios of 15 or 20 to 1 (20 inches of snow melts to just one inch of water).

This storm created lots of travel headaches for the lower Susquehanna valley, with many accidents reported. It was the first snowfall many of those residents had seen this winter season, and the snow fell during the middle of the day. Forecasters at the National Weather Service recognized the potential for this fast moving storm to produce 3 or more inches of snow across the southern tier of the state, and posted a Snow Advisory at 414 AM on Wednesday.