Snowfall totals of up to 17 inches were reported Thursday morning by the National Weather Service after the storm moved out of the region.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority suspended nearly all bus service in response to the heavy snowfall and road crews worked through the night to gets tons of snow off major arteries.
Nine passengers spent the night on board a SEPTA bus that got stranded in the city's West Oak Lane neighborhood, spokeswoman Heather Redfern said.
"I imagine they thought they were better off staying on the warm bus rather than getting off, since they didn't have a place to stay," Redfern said. The passengers had all disembarked by 7:30 a.m.
Redfern said about 150 SEPTA buses got stuck overnight. Other than the nine passengers that opted to stay on the Route 22 bus, all passengers got off seeking alternate ways to their destinations.
Heavy, wet snow wreaked havoc for utility providers. Peco reported 15,000 customers were without power as of Thursday morning in suburban Philadelphia. The worst of the outages occurred in southern Chester County and it could take all day to restore service, Peco spokesman Ben Armstrong said.
"Significant damage in some areas is requiring a lot of work," he said.
Workers were out all night making repairs but encountered blizzard-like conditions that made it hard to get to affected areas, according to Armstrong.
The massive storm covered the region's roads with wet snow that packed on to roadways thanks to rain and sleet that preceded the heaviest snowfall. Nearly 15 inches was reported at Philadelphia International Airport, with 17 inches on the ground in the city's Somerton neighborhood.
PennDOT spokesman Eugene Blaum said speed restrictions remain in place on highways and expressways as crews work to clear more pavement.
"The more time you take to get out this morning the better the roadways are going to be," he said.
Disabled vehicles and downed trees tangled with power lines contributed to the hassles encountered by plows trying to clear streets, Blaum said. Westbound lanes of Interstate 78 were closed in Lehigh County for more than two hours around midnight because of disabled commercial vehicles. The highway was reopened by 2:30 a.m.
"We've been running plow trains through the morning, so we're doing pretty good consider we've had a foot of snow," Blaum said.
Officials reported two people were hospitalized following a snowmobile accident in Lancaster County. A 19-year-old man struck another man who was waiting for a turn on board the snowmobile, police said. Investigators said alcohol was a factor in the crash.
Schools were canceled on a wide swath running from central Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, a day after some school dismissed early because of the storm's one-two punch.
About 1,500 passengers were stranded overnight at Philadelphia International Airport, according to spokeswoman Victoria Lupica.
More than 400 flights were canceled Wednesday night and some flights had to be recalled to the gate because conditions were too dangerous, Lupica said. Stuck passengers were provided pillows, blankets and snacks by the airport and some concession stands stayed open through the night.
Lupica urged air travelers to check with their airline to see if their planned flights were still on, although airport officials hoped to have normal operations restored around midday.
