Snow emergency in Philadelphia ends; public and Catholic schools virtual again Wednesday

The snow emergency in Philadelphia has officially ended Tuesday morning after a winter storm dumped over 9 inches of snow in the city. A spokesperson for the city said the emergency would end at 6 a.m.

However, Mayor Cherelle Parker said city offices and courts will remain closed Tuesday as crews continue to work on cleaning up city streets and sidewalks.

"We are not out of the woods, Philadelphia, and we are not claiming victory at all right now," Parker said in a news conference Monday.

Are Philadelphia schools open Wednesday?

All School District of Philadelphia school buildings will be closed again Wednesday, and it will be another virtual learning day for students. District offices and early childhood centers will be closed, and after-school programs should be canceled.

Archdiocese of Philadelphia schools will use a "flexible instruction day" again on Wednesday as well.

SEPTA schedule for Tuesday

SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said buses are expected to be fully back on the road by the start of service Tuesday. He said as of Monday afternoon, 37 bus routes are back to full service.

Sauer added that the Regional Rail is still suspended but will return to service Tuesday on a Saturday schedule.

A SEPTA spokesperson said Tuesday that regular trolley service has been restored.

"We don't want to tow vehicles"

Officials said they continue to plow secondary and tertiary roads and have even lifted and melted several tons of snow so far, but plows need to work.

As of Tuesday morning with the emergency lifted, you are once again able to park on snow emergency routes. The city says if your vehicle was relocated during the snow emergency, call 215-686-SNOW (7669), and press option 4, to find it.   

Earlier this week the mayor urged Philadelphia residents to move their cars out of snow emergency routes.

"Not all of you, but some of you continue to park on those critical routes," Parker said Monday. "We've had to tow nearly 350 vehicles since Sunday alone. We don't want to tow vehicles, so please help us."

"We're about to hit a deep freeze, very cold temperatures," Carlton Williams, director of Clean & Green Initiatives, said, "and so whatever we don't get could possibly freeze, and it makes it that much more difficult for us to plow frozen material.

"It looked like the Snowmageddon"

Waking up to heavy snow can be bad enough for some, but it can be more stressful when living in a hilly area. One of the challenges in living in the historic district of Manayunk during a snowstorm is not only the hills, but the brick streets that residents said make things more slippery.

"It looked like the Snowmageddon," Manayunk resident Jessica George said.

George said around 9 a.m., crews started to salt and plow the streets, but they only worked on the main roads.

"So, everyone [else] is pretty much stuck in," George said.

Some Manayunk residents like George are frustrated that their hilly streets are slushy and potentially dangerous.

One couple who didn't want to be on camera was out working hard to dig out what looked like an unplowed area at Hermitage and Smick streets. They said everything was buried in the snow, and a plow truck didn't come by, leading them to shovel out two cars.

Lehigh Valley, Bucks County dig out

People in the Lehigh Valley have spent Monday digging out after some areas got nearly a foot of snow. 

In Allentown, the city got 11.5 inches. The city lifted its snow emergency Monday, but cleaning up the streets is taking a good amount of heavy lifting. 

Carlos Suriel, of Allentown, said the rain and sleet that fell after the snow has made shoveling a lot harder and heavier Monday. 

"I don't want to lose the parking here," he said. "I don't want to do all this work for someone to take it."

Sunday's winter storm in the Lehigh Valley turned deadly. According to the Lehigh County Coroner, three people died while shoveling snow.  

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk is urging people to help their neighbors when they can.

"If you're young and strong and ready to shovel some snow, that's phenomenal," he said. "However you feel, just watch yourself. Just take care."

Tuerk says early weekend prep put the city in a good spot. Now, crews can focus on secondary streets. He's asking for patience as the city continues this cleanup process.

"It's going to take a while to get to all the alleys," Tuerk said. "But Allentonians are amazing. We show up. And we're going to show up for each other, and we'll get there. And then hopefully we don't have any more snow."

Despite Allentown's snow emergency being lifted, city crews will continue on 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day to get all the streets clear. 

Snow cleanup became a community affair in Doylestown in Bucks County following Sunday's winter storm. 

For many people in the Borough of Doylestown, heavy snow meant spending hours digging out.

"It's heavy, so it's kind of difficult for us to shovel," Albert Campos said. 

Snow and wintry mix fell for hours Sunday as parts of Bucks County got 8 to 10 inches of snow. 

Families took advantage of the snow day Monday with the day off from school, but the storm had others like Peter Notwick thinking of warmer days, including a move to Florida. 

Snow removal operations will continue this week in both the Borough of Doylestown and Doylestown Township with the goal of making roads passable.