Nearly 80,000 customers were without power across a wide area of Pennsylvania early Friday afternoon after the first winter storm of the season dumped a coating of heavy wet snow on the region.
As of 12:50 p.m. PPL Electric Utilities outage map showed about 78,000 customers affected in an area stretching from Northeast Pennsylvania to the Lancaster area. That number was slowly beginning to recede an hour later, but was still over 70,000. UGI Utilities was reporting over 1,000 of its customers were without power in northwest Luzerne County and surrounding areas.
Power went out overnight in many areas as the snow brought down tree limbs and electric lines. In some cases, PPL's website indicated it could take until Saturday or Sunday for power to be restored.
According to the National Weather Service, accumulations had reached into the double digits by Friday morning. Among them:
Richmondale, Lackawanna County - 19.5 inches
Union Dale, Susquehanna County - 17.2 inches
Bear Creek, Luzerne County - 15.0 inches
Equinunk, Wayne County - 13.5 inches
Clarks Green, Lackawanna County - 12.8 inches
Lake Harmony, Carbon County - 9.5 inches
Mount Pocono, Monroe County - 9.4 inches
Dushore, Sullivan County - 8.0 inches
Pittston, Luzerne County - 6.0 inches
Mahanoy City, Schuylkill County, 5.0 inches
NWS said the storm was expected to wind down by mid-afternoon, with precipitation changing over to rain, though lingering showers and a rain/snow mix could continue into the evening.
NWS is predicting a slight chance of snow showers before 10 a.m. on Saturday before precipitation could turn to rain. High temperatures will be near 43 degrees. Saturday night lows will be around 38. Sunday will be partly cloudy with highs near 47.
The storm also led to road closures, speed restrictions, and event cancellations around the region. The latest information on state roads and highways can be found at 511pa.com.
PennDOT also closed its welcome centers on Interstate 81 at Tompkinsville (northbound), Lenox (southbound) and Great Bend (southbound) due to power outages in those locations.
One of the most ironic disruptions, perhaps, was at Misericordia University in Dallas, where Friday evening's performance of Agatha Christie's play "The Mousetrap" had been canceled.
The classic mystery centers around a group of strangers who are snowed in at a remote guesthouse, only to discover there is a murderer among them.
