Record snowfall in Pennsylvania; 11.2 inches recorded

© Review/Eric Hrin

The only thing area motorists could be thankful for Wednesday was safely reaching their destinations.

And for some, that didn't happen.

A pre-Thanksgiving snowstorm made roads a treacherous mess, sending vehicles slipping, sliding and some even overturning. The snow set a record.

As of 7:30 p.m. in Towanda, Wayne Vanderpool, National Weather Service Co-Op Observer, reported that he measured 11.2 inches of snow, "with it still snowing lightly."

He said it was "the most snow ever measured in Towanda on any November day, since records began back in 1895."

Also, Vanderpool said Wednesday's total set a 24-hour snowfall record for Nov. 26. The old record was 2.5 inches, which he said was set back in 1898.

The snow kept emergency responders busy with calls.

"It's all over the county," said Alan Painter, an assistant chief with the Troy Volunteer Fire Department. "The departments are getting called everywhere." Painter said that with all the snow, there was "no traction" on the roads.

On Wednesday night, Painter stood beside a truck that lay on its side, following a crash, with no injuries, that occurred on Route 14 in Troy Township. He said it was caused by the bad road conditions. A man, who was the only person in the truck, refused treatment.

"It's pretty slippery, a slippery snow," Painter said. "It's one of the early ones. People aren't used to it yet."

Painter said the crash was the third such one of the day, in which vehicles slid off the road.

Another crash Wednesday, just outside Troy Borough near the Williams propane tanks, on the opposite side of Route 6 in Troy Township, sent a car over an embankment. The Bradford County Firewire Facebook page listed 3:52 p.m. as the time of the call for a "vehicle off the roadway" in the area of Williams Tank Barn on Route 6 in Troy Township.

Meanwhile, on Route 414 in LeRoy Township, the Canton Volunteer Fire Department responded to a crash in which a truck overturned and landed on its roof. The call was received at 3:27 p.m., according to Bradford County Firewire.

Canton Fire Chief J. Scott May said no one was injured in the rollover crash. He said it was his guess that the bad road conditions caused the crash.

"They're terrible," he said of the roads.

The driver, a New Albany man who didn't want to be identified, said that he was following a Fed Ex truck, at 35 mph, before his own truck went over a ditch and flipped over.

State police at Towanda said incidents in which vehicles were slipping off the road, due to the snowy road conditions, were widespread Wednesday throughout the county.

Troy Borough Council President Krystle Bristol said the snow was "very slick" in the borough.

"The borough crew has been working nonstop to keep the roads clear and will continue to do so until it subsides," she said. "It's a very slick snow that is causing some accidents."

Borough Council Vice President Jennifer Malehorn, meanwhile, said "the guys have been out all day and will be out until the storm is finished. I know our guys are ready and more than willing to take care of the borough. In addition, the borough manager has been in communication throughout the day, so we know the status."

On Wednesday afternoon, Canton Police Chief Doug Seeley said the borough's street crew was doing a good job. He said four people were working on the borough streets.

"They're slippery, but they're right on top of them," he commented.

He advised motorists to drive with caution, and have a safe and happy holiday.

A sign for a Thanksgiving Eve service in the borough had a message, noting it was canceled. It was the same story for a planned service in Granville Center.

Snow was everywhere in the county.

And if you didn't have to drive, you could appreciate the fun and beauty of the snow.

The Christmas tree at Canton Borough Hall was covered in a fresh coat of snow, giving it even more of a holiday look.

"I enjoy it, I don't mind snow," said Lindsay Rathbun, as she shoveled snow in Canton Wednesday afternoon. She said it puts a little damper on holiday travel, however. She had to cancel a trip to Maryland, because of the weather.

© Review/Eric Hrin

The sign on the north edge of LeRaysville, along Route 467, stood almost covered in snow Wednesday. The bear mailbox holder outside the home of Chris and Martha Young of LeRaysville, meanwhile, was almost covered in snow as well.

The snow made an impression on employees of the LeRaysville Market: Sara Button, who had been shoveling; Traci Johnson; Krista Histand; and Sarah Mast.

"It's beautiful!" Krista said of the snow. "That's all I care about." She also heard a man say it was a "good day for penguins."

In Stevensville, Maria Hoover and her son Isaiah Hoover, 7, put the finishing touches on a "snow cat."

"We have a solid four to five inches up here already, and it's still coming down hard," said Mallory Babcock of Armenia Mountain, at 3:07 p.m. Wednesday.

"It looks the start of winter."

"I love getting it," she added. "I think it's a difficult time to have it right before Thanksgiving, because people are traveling, that's the bad part of it."

"We've had quite a few cars in ditches on Fallbrook Road," Babcock said.

She said PennDOT workers had to come up, with chains on their vehicles, and clean the road.