The promise, peril, and whimsy of a potential double-digit snowfall in Philly

Informal plans for a snowball fight in Rittenhouse Square. Debates on the best snow to craft the most aerodynamic orb.

A run on ice salt. Public denunciations of said runs.

Searches for snow shovelers.

Love it or hate it, Philadelphia could be racking up its first double-digit snowfall since 2016, and residents are bursting at the seams of their snowsuits with the peril and promise of a real, old-school winter wonderland.

Alex Janconski, a manager at Stanley True Value, a hardware store in Roxborough, said the recent snow dustings in the city had already proved to be good for business but this weekend’s forecast had made it hard for suppliers to keep up. People seem to be stocked up on shovels at this point, Janconski said, but in recent days salt has been a hot commodity.

People are taking whatever they can get — rock salt, fast melt, magnesium chloride.

Janconski said the urgency felt by his customers is reminiscent of the COVID-19 days. Three pallets of ice melt sold within 15 minutes of opening Thursday. He suspects the demand has to do with the significant snow projections.

“In terms of the inches, it’s hard to get away from that number and feel like, oh, I can get away with just having nothing,” he said.

While the traditional run on stores before a storm is a strongly held American tradition, there is an added novelty in a city like Philadelphia, where some generations can still wax poetic about staring at the TV waiting for school closure announcements that would give them the all-clear to sled down the Art Museum steps, at Clark Park, or on Fairmount Park’s Belmont Plateau.

Snowfall in the digital age, as the rarity that it is, has lost much of the whimsy.

The specter of a dusting feels more like a chore. The kids can learn virtually and the responsibilities for homeowners and renters are the same — six hours to shovel or risk up to a $300 fine in Philadelphia.

And is it true that the teens no longer do shoveling side-hustles anymore?

The online space has also given the cynics multiple platforms from which to thumb their nose at the forecasts.

Meteorologist Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz, formerly of NBC10 and legendary for his bow tie collection, is one voice pushing back.

“Forecasts of any type are going to be imperfect,” he said in a TikTok video, after announcing Wednesday that he would be doing two weather updates a day until the storm hits.

“You got any sports forecasts that are correct? Political forecasts? Economic forecasts? It’s hard to predict the future.”

Fans delighted in Schwartz’s coming “out of retirement,” even if it meant sharing his prognostication talents with the rest of the country.

Whether or not the storm ends up being more modest than expected, there are plenty in Philadelphia who want to make the most of the occasion.

A Reddit thread echoed childlike wonder as a poster asked if there was chatter of a collective snowball fight Sunday.

“Dual [sic] at high noon?” asked the poster, whom, sadly, The Inquirer could not reach to ask about what makes a great snowball fight setting.

Another thread pitched a pond hockey game at FDR Park should the ice be thick enough. Supportive commenters already began work to get the Philadelphia Flyers and Gritty to join.

Meanwhile, contingency plans abound ahead of the potential weekend dump. Businesses are calling it and closing their doors, and state agencies are fully activated, adjusting their various plowing and emergency response plans.

Even the 25th Annual Keystone Sacred Harp Convention at the Rotunda finds itself adjusting to potential snow.

The members of the group, who don’t actually play any harps, practice a style of early American a cappella singing called shape-note singing that uses a series of different shapes rather than typical oval-shaped note heads. The notation was invented in Philadelphia in the 1700s, according to the convention’s chair, Rachel Hall.

About 200 people from across the country were originally slated to come to the events over the weekend, Hall said. But, if the snow falls as predicted, Hall plans on hosting the singers in the living room of her West Philly home Sunday for those willing to make the trudge. She said she likes how the activity brings people together.

“We have a lot of traditions that enable us to come together and think about things that are beyond ourselves,” Hall said.

Besides, what’s an inch (or 14) of snow?