The recent snowy weather pattern has not only caused delays for schools and messy commutes, but also long lines outside Philadelphia's probation department.
A line of people, estimated to be 70 people long, waited in the cold outside the Philadelphia Adult Probation and Parole Department's offices at 1401 Arch Street in Center City on Tuesday.
Photos posted to social media sites like Instagram show the line wrapping out of the office building's lobby and around the block.
"1401 is crazy for this one and it's cold out," Di'Shon Pooler-Evans posted along with a photo of the line.
"It’s unreal. They are all waiting out in lines," said Chuck Bernard, who snapped one of the photos and works in the building. "The line is long every now and again. It’s long today due to the courts being closed."
Those closures, which happened last Thursday and Friday, were ordered after a snow emergency was declared during the nor'easter that dropped almost a foot of snow in the city.
Richard McSorley, Deputy Court Administrator for Philadelphia's Criminal Trial Division, says the probation department along with the city's Pretrial Division, which is also housed in the building, typically stagger appointments, but because of the recent cancellations had everyone show up at once.
"Both units have probationers and those on pretrial release reporting to this building daily," he told NBC10.com. "The lobby of this building cannot handle the large volume and many people showed up in the morning at the same time."
While the line quickly formed, officials were able to reschedule the appointments fairly quickly and get through the line by midday.
"While we regret the delay of getting people into the building it was simply a matter of many people arriving at the same time due to our closures," McSorley said.
Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.
Photo Credit: Chuck Bernard