Snow continues to fall in Erie, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas that already have seen a record amount of snow over the past few days, as the rest of the northeast faces bitter freezing temperatures.
Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper signed a declaration of disaster emergency which she said would allow “needed resources to be obtained.”
Emergency management coordinator Dale Robinson says that will allow officials to bring in some National Guard resources with forecasters predicting more snow Wednesday.
The storm brought 34 inches of snow on Christmas Day, an all-time daily snowfall record for Erie.
Another 24.5 inches fell by Tuesday night, bringing the total since December 23 to more than 62.9 inches.
The two-day snowfall of 58 inches, which was still ongoing, also surpassed a previous state record of 44 inches set in Morgantown on March 20-12, 1958.
Erie, Pa., residents on East 24th Street dig out on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017, after a record two-day snowfall. The National Weather Service office in Cleveland says the storm brought 34 inches on Christmas Day, a new all-time daily snowfall record for Erie. (Greg Wohlford/Erie Times-News via AP)
According to data from the National Weather Service, the 34 inches of snow that fell on December 25 in Erie, Pennsylvania, was the highest the city had ever recorded, eclipsing the previous high of 20 inches in November 1956
Erie has issued a snow emergency, citing “dangerous and impassable” roads. Officials urged people to avoid travel.
Residents took to social media to post stunning photos of the whiteout, with meteorologists attributing the 58 inches of snow that fell to icy winds blowing over the adjoining Lake Erie, one of North America’s Great Lakes.
More snow was expected at a rate of up to an inch or two per hour as residents were warned to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary and pack emergency kits including tow ropes, flashlights, shovels and flares for essential travel.
Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf announced in a statement that the state national guard was “providing high clearance all terrain military vehicles to aid local agencies with medical emergency and law enforcement response.”
Erie meanwhile has received 97 inches of snow in December, making it the snowiest month in the city’s history — which usually averages about 100 inches of snow in an entire season.
By Tuesday night the temperature had plunged to 14 Fahrenheit, with the lake-effect snow warning forecast to continue through Wednesday, potentially adding an additional five to 10 inches of snowfall.
Meanwhile, forecasters warn of frigid, sub-zero arctic air and dangerously cold wind chills in much of the U.S.
Wind chill advisories or warnings are in effect for all of North Dakota and Wisconsin, as well as swaths of South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan and Indiana.
Wind chill advisories were also in effect for parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York. Meteorologists warn frostbite is possible with as little as 30 minutes of exposure.