<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/0224_ne_snow-deficits.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/0224_ne_snow-deficits.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/0224_ne_snow-deficits.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > Shown above is seasonal snowfall as of Feb. 23, 2020. Snowfall so far ranks among the 10 lowest seasonal totals to date for the cities shown.

At a Glance Seasonal snowfall totals to date are near record lows in three major Northeast cities.

Most storm systems have brought rain instead of snow due to an unfavorable track.

Many of the major cities in the northeastern United States have escaped the winter relatively unscathed so far, with seasonal snowfall totals to date nearing record lows in New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Through Sunday, Philadelphia had picked up a measly 0.3 inches of snow this entire winter, making it the second-least-snowy winter so far in the city's history. Most of that snow (0.2 inches) fell on Jan. 18, and no snow has been measured since then. The other 0.1 inches was recorded on Dec. 11.

In an average season, 17.9 inches of snow would have fallen in Philadelphia by Feb. 23. Still, this won't be the least-snowy season overall in Philly – in the winter of 1972-73, only a trace of snow was reported.

Some 140 miles down Interstate 95, Washington, D.C., is not doing much better in terms of snowfall, even though it has picked up twice as much as Philadelphia.

The nation's capital had received 0.6 inches of snow through Sunday, ranking as the fourth-least-snowy season to date. Half of that fell on Dec. 11, while the other half fell on Dec. 16 (0.1 inches) and Jan. 18 (0.2 inches).

Although less than an inch of snow has fallen all season in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., New York City has picked up 4.8 inches so far. Despite receiving 16 times more snow than Philly and eight times more than Washington, this winter still ranks as the ninth-least-snowy to date in the Big Apple.

New York City would need a seasonal snowfall total of at least 10.1 inches – or an additional 5.3 inches – to avoid finishing in the bottom 10 for the full season. That may be easier said than done, since there have been more 60-plus-degree days than below-freezing days at Central Park since Dec. 1 .

(MORE: No Winter Storm Warnings Have Been Issued in New York City)

Other Northeastern cities that are having one of the 10 least-snowy winters to date include Allentown and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Islip, New York; Blacksburg, Lynchburg and Roanoke, Virginia; Wilmington, Delaware; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Salisbury, Maryland.

Boston is not having one of its 10 least-snowy winters to date, but it was still 17.1 inches below average as of Sunday. Including Monday, Beantown had six days with high temperatures of 60 degrees or warmer since Dec. 1. Two of those days were back-to-back 70-degree days, including an all-time January record high of 74 on Jan. 12.

Low-pressure systems this winter have either moved too quickly out into the Atlantic without strengthening close to the East Coast, or they have tracked farther inland, allowing much of the East to receive rain instead of snow because of warmer air pulled into the storm from the south.

This is evident on the map below, where the arrows represent the tracks of significant winter storms so far this season. In the East, the only notable snow has been confined to the interior Northeast, particularly northern Pennsylvania, upstate New York and northern New England.

Snowfall is far below average for many locations in the East due to this persistent storm track for much of the winter.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/0223-ws-tracks-snow.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/0223-ws-tracks-snow.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/0223-ws-tracks-snow.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > Winter Storm Tracks 2019-20 The arrows represent the tracks of significant winter storms so far this season. The shaded areas are estimates of total snowfall this season.

It can still snow well into March or even early April in the Northeast, but time is running out to make up these large snowfall deficits.

The peak time for major Northeast snowstorms has historically been from late January through February , but we all remember what happened in March 2018 when a parade of four nor'easters hammered the northeastern U.S. , dumping heavy snow, knocking out power to millions and causing severe coastal flooding.

(MORE: Big Changes to March 2020 Temperature Outlook)

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.