Snow blankets north-eastern US, breaks records

WASHINGTON: The first major snowstorm of the season left north-eastern United States blanketed in snow, setting records in some areas.

A regional airport in Williamson made history, the National Weather Service said, reporting 24.7 inches of snow. Forecasters said that was the most snow in that location from a single storm on record, breaking the previous record of 24.1 inches set there in Jan 1964.

Much of Pennsylvania’s western and central regions saw accumulations in the double digits.

Boston already broke the record for snowfall on Dec 17, recording 9.1 inches falling since midnight on Wednesday, a meteorologist said.

That is the new record right now, and it will probably be more before its done, Bryce Williams said. The previous record for snow fall on Dec. 17 was recorded in 2013 when 6.4 inches fell in Boston. High elevations in the Berkshires saw the most snow, more than a foot, in Massachusetts.

Moderate to heavy snowfall is forecast through Thursday afternoon, with another 3 to 4 inches accumulating before slowly tapering off.

Nearly 40 inches of snow was dumped on Binghamton, New York, as of Thursday morning, with widespread reports of snowfall over three feet in Broome County.

A National Weather Service spokesperson said the storm sets a new two-day snowfall record. The previous record was made in March 2017 with 35.3 inches falling.

It took Fred Cullin, 23, more than an hour and a half to dig his way out of his steep, lakeside driveway in Ithaca, New York, that was packed with nearly three feet of snow piled up by plows. It was pretty crazy, Cullin said. Shoveling uphill, on ice, was definitely interesting.

He then drove to work at a brewery about 45 minutes north, noting: The roads are pretty darn brutal. Im driving in an area I usually do about 60 mph in and Im cruising at about 40 just to be safe.