Philadelphia digging out from 2nd-largest snowfall

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Residents spent Sunday digging out from a storm that came two days before winter’s official start but provided more than a season’s worth of snow.

The 23.2 inches of snow the winter storm dumped on the city Saturday was the second-largest snowfall since city records began in 1884 and was also larger than the seasonal average of 19.3 inches, the National Weather Service said. The record for the City of Brotherly Love remains the 30.7 inches recorded during the January 1996 blizzard.

“It’s safe to say we have guaranteed ourself a white Christmas,” meteorologist Anthony Gigi said. “It can’t disappear — not this time.”

In the city’s suburbs, 19.3 inches was recorded in West Caln in Chester County, 19 inches in Folcroft in Delaware County, 16.5 inches in Wynnewood in Montgomery County and 12.5 inches in Bensalem, Bucks County. South-central Pennsylvania also reported large snowfall, with 22 inches in South Mountain in Franklin County, 20 inches in Quarryville in Lancaster County and in Brogue in York County and 19.5 inches in Rainsburg in Bedford County.

Dozens of flights to and from Philadelphia International Airport were canceled or delayed on the day after the storm. The airfield was shut down Saturday night after about 80 percent of flights had been canceled, and runways began reopening at 7:10 a.m. Sunday, spokeswoman Phyllis Van Istendal said.

About 1,300 stranded travelers spent Saturday night in the airport, and officials handed out blankets, disposable pillows, water and snacks and asked vendors to remain open, Van Istendal said.

The School District of Philadelphia and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia both announced that classes for the 195,000 public school and Roman Catholic school students would be canceled today. District spokesman Fernando Gallard said that given the volume of snow, officials wanted to give the city and residents another day to clear roads and sidewalks.

“We don’t want children to be walking on the streets because they can’t walk on the sidewalks,” Gallard said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had 425 trucks out at the height of the storm and had them working again Sunday after a brief early morning rest to clear roads before today’s rush hour, spokesman Gene Blaum said. Major roads remained open and no major accidents had been reported, he said.

Mayor Michael Nutter urged residents to avoid travel if possible Sunday and to clear their sidewalks so pedestrians would not be endangered.

“Please stay in unless you really have to be out on the streets,” Nutter said. “We know this is the week before Christmas ... but if we cooperate, we can work this out and get everyone ready for work tomorrow.”