The three inches of snow predicted to fall in State College Sunday night never came. Instead, the largest snowstorm since 1996 visited Penn State, said Paul Ruskin, Office of Physical Plant spokesman.

As classes convened after a two-hour delay, students who originally planned to be in State College by yesterday morning instead found themselves trapped in airports, bus stations and hotels on the route to Penn State.

If it were not for car trouble while traveling North on U.S. Route 322 Sunday, Jennifer Wherley (senior-biology) would have made it back to school before the storm.

After her car broke down in Lewistown, Wherley was forced to spend the night in a hotel, along with her roommates who attempted to pick her up but became trapped in the storm with her.

"My room's a disaster area. I haven't gotten unpacked," she said.

Kelly Lormand (junior-English and religious studies) also spent Sunday night in a hotel after seeing several cars stuck in ditches along Interstate 80.

"I'm still working on unpacking and I spent $50 on a hotel instead of books," she said.

The 13 inches of snow that hit the State College area gave road crews difficulty in clearing streets clogged by what Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon described as "slippery snow."

The snow's high moisture content along with an inaccurate forecast — only three to six inches of snow were predicted — made the effort to clean up the streets even harder, said Mahon. It was Mahon who announced the two-hour delay to WPSU-FM at 5 a.m. yesterday.

Not all walkways were clear yesterday as classes convened. Although the snow-covered surfaces posed a potential hazard and several people were seen falling on the slippery sidewalks, a spokeswoman for University Health Services said no one sought treatment at Ritenour for weather-related injuries.

The Office of Physical Plant announced a "Midnight Clear" last night, a measure that restricted all parking in Penn State faculty/staff surface lots from midnight until 7 a.m. People were required to move personal and departmental vehicles to parking decks until road crews finished clearing snow from the surface lots. Cars that remained in the lots risked being issued citations.

Although no major storm-related accidents were reported yesterday, over 50 cars were towed, Cpl. Richard Ososkie of the State College Police Department said.

Campus preparations for the storm began at 2:15 p.m. Sunday when part of a central support crew began to salt and clear roads. By 10 p.m., the rest of the 20-person crew was called to assist in clearing roads.

Fifty members of Penn State's landscape crew began clearing walkways at 4 a.m. yesterday, and the janitorial crew began clearing building entrances at 5 a.m.

The Centre Area Transportation Authority reported no delays to its routes as a result of the storm.

"Everything seems pretty clear on campus," Mahon said.

Although most of the snow is now cleared from roads, runways and sidewalks, students continue to feel its effects.

Jenna Bartz (junior-letters, arts and sciences) planned to fly back to Penn State at 11 a.m. on Sunday from Detroit, but her flight was canceled. As a result of her delayed return, Bartz missed both of her classes yesterday and was unable to get her syllabi.

"I feel rushed to get my books and get ready for the semester on top of my classes," Bartz said.