In case you didn’t hear it on the news, over here in Erie we are completely buried in snow. Erie picked up more snow in 30 hours than its previous 13-day snowfall record. The snow storm total for the event was an incredible 65.1 inches by Wednesday morning! A week later and it has barely let up. Every time I look outside the air is thick with flakes. Officials declared a snow emergency for the city during the storm starting Christmas day! You weren’t even allowed to drive unless you had proper tires and AWD.
Erie, Pennsylvania is known for harsh winters, thanks to the lake effect. Basically water rises off the lake, freezes instantly, and then dumps all over Erie in piles of snow. The lake effect can cause massive snowfalls in a short amount of time. We went to bed Christmas night and when we woke up we found over 18 inches of snow. The next morning we couldn’t even see our balcony. The deck, and every square inch of railing, was completely covered in snow. It looked like we could just walk right off the edge of our second story porch into a sea of snow.
We have an elementary school near our house and we decided to go see the state of the playground after the snowstorm. The parking lot had been cleared enough that Kris could pull the kids around in the sled there, the playground was completely buried in fluffy white flakes though. The snow was piled so high around the parking lot you could almost dunk a baby in a basketball hoop!
Lots of people complain about Erie, PA winters, and after this week I don’t blame them. I would be so frustrated if I had to dig out my car every day, or if I worried constantly about getting stuck in the snow. For me it all still seems magical though. I feel like we are living in the heart of a beautiful ski resort village. There is a constant white blanket around us. The fire in our living room keeps us cozy, and thankfully we have a double car garage and 4WD, so we never have to dig out our car or worry about getting stuck.
For us the storm has been really fun! We keep going out in the hot tub while it is snowing. If you haven’t been snow hot tubbing before, it is really fun! We go out sledding whenever it isn’t too windy. Zander isn’t a fan of touching the snow, or walking in it, but we discovered that our Regalo Baby play yard basically floats on top of the snow. He will sit in there happily while we play. In these pictures the depth of the of snow was well above my waist, yet Zander was able to sit right on top. Zoey on the other hand LOVES the snow. True to her regular character, she will stay out in the snow till the absolute last possible second, no matter how cold it is.
After a short relapse, my winter love is back. I just keep looking out our window at this Erie winter wonderland with heart eyes. This record breaking snow storm made Christmas feel extra magical and memorable. It is the largest snow storm to hit Erie since 1958!! I am glad we stayed in Erie for the Christmas season so we didn’t miss it. Side note – is anyone else loving Zoey’s scarf and sunglass combo? She dressed herself!
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Play Yard: Regalo Baby | Zoey’s Coat: Peekaboo Beans | Zander’s Snowsuit: The North Face Kids
2 Responses
So funny that you’re from Erie! I was there over Christmas with my boyfriend’s family this past year as well and was barely able to leave and make it back home to see my family.
Wish you could ship some of that to Idaho!!! Where I’m at we got maybe 6 inches this whole winter. It was disappointing after last year’s 2-3 feet.
Looks like you’re making the best of it though. Great family time.