December 27, 2017
People dig out the path by their house after the record snowfall in Erie, Pennsylvania on Dec. 26 in this picture obtained from social media.
December 27, 2017
People dig out the path by their house after the record snowfall in Erie, Pennsylvania on Dec. 26 in this picture obtained from social media.
Snow piled up in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday after two days of record-breaking snowfall that had already surpassed 5 feet (1.5 meters), breaking city and state records, according to the National Weather Service.
Though residents are used to winter snow squalls blowing in from adjacent Lake Erie, which straddles the border with Canada, the Christmas storm is already one for the ages.
"This is an incredible amount of snow that we're trying to move," the Erie Police Department said in statement after the city declared a "snow emergency" on Tuesday, imploring people to stay off the streets.
By Tuesday evening, meteorologists had counted at least seven different city and state records broken by the storm.
The 34 inches (0.86 meters) that fell on Christmas Day alone was a new record for any single day in Erie, handily beating the 20-inch record set back in 1956, the National Weather Service said.
And the storm broke a 59-year-old record for two-day snowfall recorded anywhere in Pennsylvania, totaling 58 inches when Tuesday's barrage was added and beating the 44-inch record set in Morgantown in 1958.
Another two to four inches of snow were forecast for Wednesday, with up to 6 inches in some places.
No residents of Erie, a city of 99,000 people according to recent U.S. census estimates, have been publicly reported as being injured in the storm, though some have complained to local news outlets about how long it takes to shovel out their driveways this week.
A general view of 1925 State Street after the record snowfall in Erie – REUTERS
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf deployed 21 Pennsylvania National Guard troops along with some all-terrain military vehicles to the region on Tuesday to help residents dig out, check on people's well-being and transport emergency responders around the area.
Courtesy/Source: Reuters
