Snow emergency in US city Erie after huge storm
A record-breaking snowfall of more than 60 inches (150 cm) has hit the Pennsylvanian city of Erie over the Christmas period, with even more said to be on the way.
The city has declared a citywide emergency as a result of the storm, which began on Sunday.
New York, northern Ohio and northern Michigan are also heavily hit.
Forecasters say the extreme weather is caused by very cold air passing over the unfrozen Great Lakes.
"We're used to snow, don't get me wrong," Erie's mayor, Joe Sinnott, told the New York Times. "But this amount, trying to deal with this, is very atypical."
Police in Pennsylvania warned motorists that "roads are dangerous and impassable", with a number of closures reported.
In neighbouring Ohio, North Kingsville piled up 18.5 inches of snow in just 12 hours, according to the Weather Channel.
So, what snow records were smashed?
In fact, a number of them were.
Skip Twitter post by @NWSCLE
With an additional 3.5" of snow at the Erie, PA airport as of 5PM, this brings the two day (12/25-26) total up to 58" and the storm total (From 7PM Christmas Eve thru 5PM 12/26) up to 60.0". Heavy snow continues to fall. Here is a look at some of the records. #pawx pic.twitter.com/BN5txOpByZ
— NWS Cleveland (@NWSCLE) December 26, 2017
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End of Twitter post by @NWSCLE
The National Weather Center said that Christmas Day in Erie brought a new all-time high for any single day (34in), beating the previous record set in 1956 (22in).
Pennsylvania's two-day snowfall record from 1944 was also shattered.
How are local residents affected?
A number of cars and homes were buried in snow, with some residents having to shovel their way out.
- Why do so many people die shovelling snow?
- What to do if it all goes wrong?
Shops and childcare centres were closed.
Some flights to and from Erie International airport were cancelled. The airport has seen 63.8in of snow since Christmas Eve, according to the National Weather Center.
Meanwhile, social media users have been publishing pictures from across the Great Lakes region.
Skip Twitter post by @DrewMacFarlane
So, since 12 AM Christmas Day, #EriePA has gotten over 55 inches of snow. Their average for December and January COMBINED is just over 57 inches. Here's what Erie looks like right now: pic.twitter.com/NigHc79iGD
— Drew (@DrewMacFarlane) December 26, 2017
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End of Twitter post by @DrewMacFarlane
Skip Twitter post by @DavidWolter1
This is insane! We have seen 92.5 inches of snow this month. 19" since midnight, and 53" since Christmas Day. #Erie #Snowmageddon pic.twitter.com/COiNJja6rx
— David Wolter (@DavidWolter1) December 26, 2017
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End of Twitter post by @DavidWolter1
Skip Twitter post by @CYerdon
Rose and I are trying to keep a path shoveled.. more photos to follow.. Still coming down… over the 50 inch mark in 30 hours! Redfield NY pic.twitter.com/GG0U31Yqjh
— Carolyn Yerdon (@CYerdon) December 26, 2017
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End of Twitter post by @CYerdon
Skip Twitter post by @tweeteater1209
Hard to get perspective but that egg-shaped mound is a car #lakeeffectsnow #Oswego #LakeOntario pic.twitter.com/OrEF3bKCAG
— Mary? (@tweeteater1209) December 27, 2017
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End of Twitter post by @tweeteater1209
