LUZERNE COUNTY -- The first snow storm of the winter is hitting parts of northeastern and central Pennsylvania hard.
"What happened to this warm winter? I don't know. It just suddenly crept up into a big snow pile," said Bernadette Tito of West Hazelton.
The storm has places in lower Luzerne County seeing far more snow than they expected. It's caused Freeland to declare a state of emergency in order to get every available plow out on the roads.
"It's a lot more than we expected," said Freeland Mayor Ed Appleman. "We were expecting maybe four to six inches. I think right now we are well over a foot, and from what I understand, we have more to come."
Significant snow can be found all around lower Luzerne from Freeland to Hazleton.
About 12 hours into the snow storm, the Hazleton area has had about a foot of snow and more still coming down, making it a busy day for snow plow drivers.
For most of the day, plow truck drivers were the only ones spotted on the roads. Conditions even for the plows have been hazardous.
"We left Wilkes-Barre City at 4:30 a.m. coming up here, and we did not arrive until 6 a.m.," said Plow Driver Mark Watklevicz. "A normal 30-minute drive became an hour and a half drive Saturday morning. The roads were horrendous. "
While Watklevicz spent hours clearing roads and parking lots, he's glad most people stayed home choosing to skip the hazardous conditions and have some fun with the snow instead.
Kaylee Tito of West Hazleton said, "We've been having snowball fights. Some people have been getting stuck, so it's really fun."
"Well, I think it's really heavy, but it's nice to play with it," said Mayury Celado of West Hazleton. "We haven't had any snow in like months. In December, it did not snow and it was really weird."
The state of emergency in Freeland does not mean you can't go out, but borough officials recommend staying home if you can.
Plows are expected to be out in Freeland and other parts of Luzerne County for the rest of the weekend.