The first snow storm of the season dumped record amounts of snow on the Berks County region over this past weekend.
“As far as this storm, I would have to say it ranks up there with some of the past blizzards as far as snow fall in a short period of time. There have been more fierce storms as far as wind and super high drifts go. Clean up here in Kutztown seems to be going great,” said Dennis Krumanocker of Kutztown. He said Kutztown received at least two feet of snow.
Sen. Judy Schwank posted on Facebook on Saturday afternoon, “Just finished shoveling off the deck and porches. The snow may be dry but it’s heavy because there is so much. Don’t wait too long to clear your doors. It’s tough to lift now and will be even more difficult later. This storm will be one for the record books!”
An estimated two feet and more of snow fell on the region. Allentown, Lehigh Valley International Airport, http://w1.weather.gov/obhistory/KABE.html, measured 31 inches.
DJ Siravo in Topton said she measured 27 inches on the lawn and 37 inches for the drift in front of the house.
Chris Young in Fleetwood estimated about 30 inches but didn’t take an official measurement.
Janet Yost of Kutztown said, “My yard stick showed 25″. I was somewhat disappointed at a lower snowfall then the ABE Airport until I started to used the snow blower. It’s only 20″ tall so I had to make two passes, the first to knock off the top and the second one to get the pavement.”
She was out snow blowing and shoveling from 9:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
“I have a fire hydrant in front of my house and it is my responsibility to keep the snow cleared away from it. This hydrant was completely buried by the snow. I had to prod around until I found the hydrant, then spent a half hour clearing around all sides. This is a vital community service because if there was a fire at any of the homes on my block, the firemen will be able to reach the hydrant quickly. No matter how exhausted I am, I get out the shovel and clear the hydrant,” said Yost.
Pennsylvania declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm as did local municipalities. Snow emergencies were issued before the storm and had been in effect throughout the weekend for Kutztown Borough as well as many others.
Crews were out plowing across Berks County throughout the weekend.
One snow plow over turned early Saturday morning on Route 662 in Oley Township, according to Berks Fire Alert Facebook.
The clean up continued on Monday, closing Kutztown, Fleetwood and Brandywine Heights school districts.
“Due to the fact that clearing the snow from entryways, sidewalks, and parking lots is far from completed, and that the plowed roads are very narrow for our buses, the Fleetwood Area School District will be closed Monday January 25. Offices will also be closed since most entryways have yet to be cleared,” posted Fleetwood School District on their website, http://www.fleetwoodasd.k12.pa.us/#.