Erie, Pennsylvania, Record Snow: 65 Inches With More Possible

ERIE, PA — Two days after Christmas, the snow kept falling in Erie, Pennsylvania. And falling. And falling. By the time it stopped, the city had received a two-day record of 65.1 inches. Erie, which is on Lake Erie and more than used to a lot snow, has redefined what a lot of snow is and broken several records in the process.

On Christmas Day, 34 inches of snow fell on Erie, shattering the previous Christmas Day record of 8.1 inches. The growing piles of snow surpassed the previous one-day record, which was 20 inches.

The two-day total was also the largest in Pennsylvania history, according to the National Weather Service's Cleveland office.

Not only was it a two-day record, the National Weather Service says the two-day total beat the city's previous 13-day total, which had been set between Dec. 31, 1998, and Jan. 12, 1999.

Erie has received 102.1 inches of snow this December, far surpassing the previous record of 66.9 inches set in December 1989.

The city receives an average of 101 inches of snow for an entire winter season.

There was so much snow the city declared a state of emergency, allowing for more resources – including the National Guard to be called out.

The Erie International Airport had to shut down on Christmas as were malls, movie theaters, banks, and even the city's transit service.

Cars were buried in the drifts, people who ventured out often found it had not been worth it as the roads were iced over and impassable.

By Wednesday, Erie's roads were relatively clear, emergency calls were relatively slow and the big task was digging out, County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper told the Associated Press.

"We're used to a lot of snow here in Erie, but this is unprecedented, the amount we got," Dahlkemper said.

Patch's Dan Hampton, who was in Erie, said pretty much everyone he was with "stayed inside, holed up and played cards the whole time."

He added that there was an instance of a neighbor getting stranded and people pitching in to get him dug out.

"My family had to go out and shovel and snow blow several times," he said.

At one point, two of his cousins declared a snow "swimming challenge," threw on Speedos and went "swimming in between two and three feet of snow.

While the emergency order was lifted Wednesday morning, the National Guard is keeping an ambulance in the city for the time being.

Photo courtesy Dan Hampton/Patch