Chester County dug its way out yesterday from under the biggest accumulation of snow from a single storm since the blizzard of 1996, according to the National Weather Service Philadelphia office.
The storm, which struck before dawn Tuesday and ended that night about 11 p.m., left parts of the county under nearly a foot of snow.
West Chester recorded 11 inches; Exton and Glenmoore each had 8, meteorologists said. Philadelphia recorded 9 inches, and Wilmington had 10.
"This storm gave Chester County as much snow in one shot as it got last season up to this point," said Art Kraus, a meteorologist with the regional office. "It just kept coming."
The melting snow shouldn't cause flooding problems unless a rainstorm adds to the water level, meteorologist Mark DeLisi said. Rain is not expected in the next few days.
Forecasters called for a mix of sun and clouds today, with highs in the low to mid-20s; Tomorrow is expected to be windy, with highs around 30 degrees; and Saturday and Sunday will be fair, with temperatures in the low to mid-30s, DeLisi said.
By early yesterday, all major roads in the county had been cleared, as had most secondary roads, said Ron Young, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. But Young said trucks were kept busy yesterday plowing snow that had drifted back onto roads in parts of southern Chester County.
Though the storm caught the area by surprise, businesses and schools had enough time to announce closings, county emergency workers said.
There were no major accidents, said John Haynes, operations manager for the county Emergency Services Department.
"It snowed a lot longer and a lot more than we thought," Haynes said. "People here did a great job of staying off the roads. Things went so well because people stayed in their homes and kept warm and let everyone do their jobs clearing away the snow."
Haynes said the county 911 center had a normal volume of calls despite the storm. He said a county-run volunteer program that paired owners of cars with four-wheel drive and hospital staffers who were snowed in helped hospital workers get to work.
PennDot officials said 105 snowplows were out for 36 hours, clearing 1,055 miles of road in Chester County.
PennDot used 13,000 tons of salt in Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, Delaware and Philadelphia Counties.
Young said he expected traffic levels to return to normal today.
