Philly Schools Are Closed Monday
Good evening, Philadelphia. Here’s what we know — and don’t know — as sunset falls on a snow-blanketed region:
District and Catholic schools in Philadelphia will be closed Monday. The announcement from the School District of Philadelphia came late Sunday afternoon: “Due to the snowstorm that occurred over the weekend, all School District of Philadelphia schools are closed for Monday, January 25.” The Archdiocese of Philadelphia also announced that “Archdiocesan high schools and Catholic elementary schools in the City of Philadelphia will be closed tomorrow, Monday, January 25, 2016 due to ongoing travel difficulties associated with the weekend’s winter storm.” Also closed are all early childhood and after-school programs and all administrative offices.”
City employees, however, will be on the job: Mayor Jim Kenney declared at a Sunday morning press conference that City Hall will be open. CBS3 reports, however, that there will be no trash or recycling collection on Monday.
PECO says fewer than 11,000 customers lost power during the storm. Which was lousy, if you were one of those customers. Bright side? That’s far fewer than the 715,000 homes and businesses that lost power during the great ice storm of 2014.
Out of impossible situations, new life arises: Philly.com reports that Brittany Gillette made it to the hospital to have her baby on Saturday even though even though she couldn’t get her car out of the driveway — and an ambulance couldn’t get all the way up her street. All told, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania delivered 19 “blizzard babies” — more than normal during a similar shift — while 13 babies were born at New Jersey’s Virtua Voorhees Hospital between Friday and Saturday night.
But there were tragedies: NBC Philadelphia reports that a New Jersey mom and her 1-year-old son died of carbon monoxide poisoning in their car while the father tried to dig out the car. The station also reports that a pregnant teen, 18-year-old Briahna Gerloff, died while shoveling snow outside her family’s Pottstown home; Gerloff suffered from a heart disorder.
Meanwhile, AP reports that, in Berks County, 56-year David Perotto died of carbon monoxide poisoning after his car was buried by a snowplow deluge.
Also, from our coverage today:
WATCH: Philadelphians Throw Snowballs at TV Reporters
Wolf Administration Defends Turnpike Response
PennDOT Has Lifted Its Philly-Area Speed Restrictions
WATCH: SEPTA’s New Snowblower Could Clear Your Driveway in Seconds
The Big Dig: Scenes From the Day After
More of Our Favorite Social Media From the Snow-Filled Streets of Philadelphia
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