Coudersport carries the distinction of being the first community in the northwestern Pennsylvania area to have snowfall Thursday when it received 3/10 of an inch of the white stuff.

While the feat will likely seem insignificant during the upcoming winter months in the area, Coudersport’s snowfall comes on the heels of a warmer-than-usual weather pattern over the past couple of weeks, said Barry Lambert, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College.

“They had a light coating” of snow, Lambert said of Coudersport, located in Potter County.  “Some years it doesn’t snow or accumulate in October and other years we can get several inches or more.”

Lambert said he recalls 2009 when the community of State College had 5 or 6 inches of snow in mid-October.

As for the local region, he said it has been a very warm first half of the month, with the second half of the month predicted to be below or much below normal.

“That’s how things come out to an average,” Lambert explained. “It’s too bad we have two extremes to come out to an average.”

As for the upcoming days, Lambert said there is a small amount of snow forecast for late Saturday or early Sunday in the Bradford area.

“Saturday night or Sunday you could easily get a ground-covering, maybe even an inch or so of snow in some places,” he continued. “And it looks like most of next week will be dry with near or slightly-below normal temperatures in the low 40s.”

Lambert noted the warmer, wetter weather in early October may be a precursor to mild temperatures in November.

“The month of November looks like the temperatures will be slightly above normal and precipitation slightly above normal,” he remarked.

In providing outlooks through January, Lambert said the warmer temperatures are expected to continue.

“(The long-range forecast) shows a much better than even chance of it being above normal temperature-wise,” he speculated. “Precipitation-wise, it’s right around normal” for the January forecast.

“That could comprise a couple of dry periods or a couple of very wet or snowy periods.”