All of Pennsylvania felt a winter storm before the break. The central part of the state received around 20 inches of snow on average.

On Wednesday, December 16th, at around 12pm is when the snow began to fall. This continued until early in the morning on Thursday. Spring Mills received around 18 inches while State College reach heights of up to 26 inches. This was called a historic snowfall. In one day, PA got more snow than they did all of last winter and possibly the last two years.

All of this snow caused safety concerns for businesses and schools. Penns Valley Area School District closed early on Wednesday, with students and staff leaving around 11:45. One business that closed for the night was Kelly’s Steak and Seafood. They had already closed down most of the restaurant to follow the new guidelines for Coronavirus, but were still doing take out. They decided to close so customers and staff would not have to drive in the horrible weather just for some food for one night.

The next day, Penns Valley was closed. Students participated in a FID (Flexible Instruction Day). This meant that they had the day to finish small assignments and it counted as a day of school, unlike a traditional snow day. Students had until 3:15 to complete their assignments for the day. Some students loved this, while others hated it because it added to the things they would have to do such as shovel snow.

Only time will tell if another snowstorm hits Pennsylvania this winter.