UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On Jan. 16, 1975, Penn State's University Park campus had 4 inches of snow on the ground, more than enough for this creative student to sculpt a snow-Snoopy on the steps of Old Main.
According to the campus weather center, total snowfall for January 1975 came to 14.9 inches, which was about 3 inches above the recorded average.
As one of the oldest land-grant institutions in the United States, Penn State began keeping comprehensive weather records in 1882, including daily maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall and snowfall; and wind speed and direction at the time of observation.
The snowiest January on record is 1978, when the campus received 41.7 inches of the frosty stuff.
For 2015 so far, Penn State's Joel N. Myers Weather Center on the University Park campus tells us that we reached 19.8 inches earlier this week, with the likelihood of breaking 20 overall by the end of January.