Watch CBS News

Sewer Plant Helps Create Snow For Small Slice Of State College

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (KDKA/AP) - A sewer plant helped create a winter wonderland for a 3-square-mile area in central Pennsylvania.

The National Weather Service in State College says a layer of dense fog mixed with condensation from a local sewer plant overnight Monday, creating a dusting of light snow in a small section east of State College.

The snow fell over roughly 3 square miles near the Nittany Mall.

The weather service calls the process a "microscale event" - too isolated to be captured by local weather reporting stations.

The dusting was a rare, if brief, winterscape for a region in the midst of an unseasonably warm and snowless fall.

Even though the area is under high pressure, a localized area of light snow fell overnight just to the east of State...

Posted by US National Weather Service State College PA on Monday, December 7, 2015

In 2013, the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Plant in Shippingport caused a freak snowstorm. It left about an inch of the white stuff behind in parts of Allegheny and Beaver counties.

Experts said the steam from the power plant combined with the near-zero temperatures at the time to create the snow, which they called a rare event and pretty special sight.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.