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Pittsburgh Sees Snowiest Christmas In 85 Years

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP
A resident of Greenfield brushes snow off a car.

It's a cold, white Christmas in Pittsburgh. 

 

The National Weather Service reports that 3.9 inches of snow fell in Pittsburgh since midnight, setting a Christmas Day record. In total, the winter storm brought 5.4 inches of snow. The previous Christmas Day record of 3.5 inches was set in 1909, and then matched in 1935. 

 

Edinboro got the most snow in Pennsylvania, with 9.3 inches.  

 

NWS has issued a wind chill advisory for Friday until Saturday morning at 9 am. Wind chills ranging from -10 to -25  degrees Fahrenheit are projected for parts of western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and northeast Ohio.

 

"Frostbite and hypothermia can occur if precautions are not taken," said the service.

 

On Thursday, the director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Randy Padfield, told people not to travel unless it was “critical” that they do so. 

 

Sarah Boden covers health and science for 90.5 WESA. Before coming to Pittsburgh in November 2017, she was a reporter for Iowa Public Radio. As a contributor to the NPR-Kaiser Health News Member Station Reporting Project on Health Care in the States, Sarah's print and audio reporting frequently appears on NPR and KFF Health News.