Carbon County residents may have been digging out for quite some time had the area’s most recent rainfall been snow.

Lehighton saw its second rainiest 24-hour period in the past two months Saturday into Sunday, according to AccuWeather.From 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday, 1.22 inches of rain soaked the ground, trailing only the 1.24 inches that fell in the same period from Dec. 23-24.Had the precipitation been snow, however, the area could be dealing with around a foot of white stuff from the most recent storm.“The general ratio is 10 inches for snow for every inch of rain,” said Dan Pydynowski, AccuWeather meteorologist. “It’s a little hard to make that comparison because a warmer system like we had this weekend can hold a little more moisture than a snowstorm would have, but I do think it’s realistic to say it would be close.”Though wet, Sunday was a warm afternoon with temperatures climbing into the mid-50s. Still, any rain in the winter is more likely to be spread out over a longer period of time.“In the summer, it’s common to have an inch or 2 of rain in a half-hour,” Pydynowski said. “That’s not going to happen in January. It’s going to be a lengthier system.”Pydynowski said 7.78 inches of rain has fallen in Lehighton since Nov. 1.That’s in stark contrast to a year ago, when 7.1 inches of snow was on the ground by Jan. 10. Most of that snow, 3.1 inches, fell on Thanksgiving eve.If you’re wishing for the first snow of this season, you won’t see enough to fire up the snowblower anytime soon.We didn’t have snow, but the wind picked up Sunday afternoon, with gusts over 30 mph taking down some trees and knocking out power in isolated areas.The high is only predicted to be 28, 34 and 26 degrees on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, but the forecast is calling for a squall bringing no more than an inch of snow to the area Tuesday afternoon.Snow showers are expected to begin after noon Tuesday and continue into Tuesday evening.The National Weather Service is warning that roads could get slick.“I think more than the amount, the biggest concern is going to be reduced visibility or temporarily slick roads because it’s going to come fast, and it won’t last very long at all,” Pydynowski said.Flurries on Saturday and Sunday could bring less than an inch of snow.“There will be some colder air coming up from the south, but I think at most, you’ll see mixed precipitation over the weekend,” Pydynowski said.