By Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Saturday, January 1, 2011
February snowstorm: What began with a mad rush for milk, bread and other essentials ended with stranded motorists, abandoned cars and thousands of homes and businesses without power when a storm dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the region Feb. 5 and 6
Wet snow and falling tree limbs cut electricity — and with it, heat, and in some cases, water — to about 188,000 homes. Gov. Ed Rendell and local officials declared states of emergencies. Authorities urged people not to drive but invited anyone without heat to huddle in “warming centers” inside churches, government buildings and senior citizen centers.
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl was snowed in with family and friends in the Laurel Mountains, celebrating his 30th birthday. He tried to return to Pittsburgh, “but it just isn’t safe out there,” he said. Outraged residents criticized city officials for failing to clear many streets.
Snowfall totaled 21.1 inches at the National Weather Service in Moon. The amount varied across the region: 17 inches measured in Greensburg, 15.5 inches in Kittanning, 19 inches in Monessen, 22 inches in Mars and 11 inches in Punxsutawney,
the weather service said. Friendsville in Garrett County, Md., reported 35.5 inches.
