Christmas Day Storm Buries Erie In Record-Breaking Snowfall
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ERIE (KDKA) --- A record-breaking snowfall on Christmas Day brought travel in the Erie area to a near standstill, forcing travelers to reconsider their plans to drive through northwestern Pennsylvania.
The National Weather Service reported 34 inches of snow fell on Erie on Christmas Day, the highest single-day total ever recorded.
Erie, PA received 34" of snow on Christmas Day! This is a new all-time daily snowfall record. The previous record was 20" set on 11/22/56. For reference, the greatest 3-day snowfall in Erie was 30.2" (12/29-31/2002), greatest 7-day snowfall is 39.8" (12/27/01-1/2/2002) #pawx
— NWS Cleveland (@NWSCLE) December 26, 2017
It didn't end there. The NWS later reported that Erie picked up 19 inches of new snow from midnight to 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.
That brought the storm total to 53 inches over the past 30 hours. It's the greatest two-day total ever recorded in the entire state of Pennsylvania.
Erie, PA picked up 19" of new snow from midnight to 6 AM. This brings the storm total to 53" over the past 30 hours, shattering many records. This is the greatest 2-day total in the entire state of PA (prev. record 44" in Morgantown, PA 3/20-21/1958).
— NWS Cleveland (@NWSCLE) December 26, 2017
More snow was expected to fall through Wednesday evening.
Pennsylvania State Police reported early Tuesday morning that travel on all roadways in Erie County is not recommended. Travelers are being advised to stay in place.
PennDOT issued a speed restriction Tuesday morning for Interstate 79, between Meadville (Exit 147A) and Interstate 90. Both I-79 and I-90 remained snow-covered in Erie County early Tuesday morning.
UPDATE: Winter weather on I-79 southbound between Exit 178A - I-90 East and Exit 147A - US 6 East/US 322 East. There is a speed restriction
— 511PA Erie (@511PAErie) December 26, 2017
State Police said there have been reports of numerous cars being stuck on roads throughout the northern half of Erie County, from the Ohio state line to the New York state line.