Businesswoman Stephanie Premich said she wasn't going to let "Winter Storm Electra" get in her way.
"We have to go to Philadelphia today. We have a show to vend at Sunday. We have to go no matter what. I'm hoping the turnpikes and the main roads will be clearer," said Premich, Orwigsburg, who co-owns Mud & Maker, a pottery and craft business based in Pottsville, with her boyfriend, Ryan Zajac, Orwigsburg.
The storm, which was pelting the entire Great Lakes region and the Eastern Seaboard, was just something they had to deal with. The threat didn't faze her.
"I've lived in Pennsylvania my whole life and snow's kind of part of the normal weather here. You get used to it. You just try to drive responsibly. If you don't have to go out, avoid it," Premich said.
Snowstorms pelted the area Dec. 8 and on Saturday, setting the stage for the coldest season of the year. The first day of winter is Saturday, Dec. 21, according to the website for The Old Farmer's Almanac at almanac.com
The National Weather Service, State College, had a winter storm warning in effect until 4 a.m. this morning, according to weather.gov.
The Weather Channel called it "Winter Storm Electra." At 1 p.m. Saturday, The Weather Channel's online radar map indicated it was pelting 23 states with snow, sleet or rain and freezing rain.
A total of 3 to 5 inches of snow was expected to fall Saturday afternoon and there was a possibility that another 3 inches would fall Saturday night, according to weather.gov.
Today, the weather will be partly sunny with a high near 32. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low about 15. Monday will be partly sunny with a high near 24, according to weather.gov.
Despite the threat of snow Saturday morning, Jessica Swick, Orwigsburg, and her daughter, Maddie, 10, boldly trekked out to run their errands before a snowflake hit the ground.
Their first stop was at 9 a.m. at the Sovereign Majestic Theater in Pottsville, where Maddie had rehearsal for "A Majestic Christmas with Bradley Dean and Ron Stabinsky" to be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 23.
"She's going to be among the local school students singing in the concert," Jessica said of her daughter, a student at Blue Mountain Elementary East.
At 9:40 a.m., the storm the National Weather Service, State College, had predicted crept into Schuylkill County.
Despite that, the Swicks decided to visit the second annual Holiday Open House at Hope Hill Lavender Farm, which is just off 2375 Panther Valley Road in Wayne Township, and they made it there just after 10 a.m.
Troy and Wendy Jochems, the owners of the lavender farm, were hoping to have 11 vendors at the event, but only six showed up.
"I don't know what to think of it. We were lucky last year. We had good weather and eight vendors. Because of the snow today, we're going to open Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. as a convenience to our customers," Troy Jochems said.
"I love the weather. I've been checking it all week, and I did know the storm was coming. But, right now, it's kind of fun to be out in - festive," Swick said.
That was before it started to accumulate.
When the snow started to fall Saturday morning, Dr. David F. O'Connell, Womelsdorf, Berks County, a psychologist with an office in Pottsville, took a drive through Berks County to stock up on some groceries.
"There's a slight hysteria in the air. Today I'm seeing people who are very hyper-focused, goal-directed and a little impatient," O'Connell said.
The threat of snow - or in the case of Saturday's weather, the sight of snowflakes in the air and stretches of white on the roads - teases the brain, O'Connell said.
"I think about 10 to 15 percent of the population is what you might call hysterically-oriented. But with 24-hour weather channels and so forth, we're all primed to anticipate future problems. I know some people in Pennsylvania who worry when they hear about snowstorms in Nevada," O'Connell said.
"When some people face situations they don't have control over, since most people like to be in control of things, we have a tendency to engage in catastrophic thinking," O'Connell said.
Catastrophic thinking is ruminating about "irrational worst-case outcomes," according to the website for Psychology Today.
"It's taking the possibility of something really bad happening and turning it into a probability, then to a very strong probability and, if you're hysterical enough, you'll believe it's an actuality," O'Connell said.
"An antidote to that is called decatastrophizing," O'Connell said.
It's exploring the reality of the situation.
"In the case of snow, you'd ask yourself 'What's the possibility this is going to be the storm of the century?' Go down the list of all the horrible things that can happen and think about the probability of it. And you may find that you're overreacting," O'Connell said.
When some people hear about the threat of snow, they wonder if they have enough food in their cupboards to sustain them if they become snowbound.
O'Connell said at least 40 percent of the population is like that, guardedly cautious.
"Maybe most of us are like that. We're extremely vigilant and primed to take proactive measures. We want to be in control of situations. And because there's so much uncertainty now, whether it's because of money or it's because of the weather or the threat of violence in society, it plays on our instincts and our deepest fears," O'Connell said.
Troy Jochems said he doesn't have such fears about the snow.
"I grew up in Pottsville. I'm native to this area. And in this day and age what falls today will be gone tomorrow. The road crews with the local communities do a good job," he said.
Premich and Zajac were among the vendors at the event Saturday at Hope Hill Lavender Farm.
They left there about noon Saturday and started on their trek to Philadelphia.
The couple were planning to vend from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Go West Craft Fest at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St.