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Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had just streaked down the field 44 yards for the team’s first touchdown Sunday when Derek Sandstrom felt his phone vibrating.

Sandstrom, his wife Sheri and son Carter were attending their “one game a year.” But instead of a friend phoning to celebrate the Birds’ score, it was a neighbor who didn’t normally call.

“I don’t know why I answered the call when I did,” Sandstrom told PennLive on Monday. He guessed it was just one of those odd feelings that guided him.

Amid the celebratory cacophony of the stadium, Sandstrom, 53, got some of the worst news of his life.

“Your house is fully engulfed in fire,” the neighbor told him. The house, located on the 100 block of Hemlock Lane in Newberry Township, York County, went up in flames around 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

“It sounded like a joke,” Sandstrom recalled thinking.

It wasn’t.

“You can imagine. It’s loud there in the stands. It was a festive, crazy environment. People were high-fiving and fist-bumping each other. And I hear my house is destroyed. The news amidst all of that was pretty surreal.”

Then Sandstrom informed an unsuspecting, smiling Sheri.

“I leaned over and told my wife. Our whole mood changed instantly,” he said.

If the family needed further proof, they were soon receiving pictures of their one-and-a-half-story home in flames as several neighbors sent out texts. One even posted the photos on Facebook.

“Flames were licking out of the top of the roof. They’re telling us what’s going on,” Sandstrom said of his neighbors. “It was a pretty destructive event. Not just a little fire.”

One moment, the Sandstrom family was “super-excited, huge Eagles fans.” The next, they were headed back to what was left of their home amid snowy, stormy road conditions.

“We didn’t even make it through the first quarter,” Sandstrom said of the divisional playoff game, which the Eagles won over the L.A. Rams 28-22.

That was the only good news.

After a long, three-hour-plus journey back to Newberry Township, the Sandstroms slowly approached their address. Night had fallen, but the flashing emergency lights of multiple fire trucks still at the scene lit the dark.

“We’re coming up over the hill. You see all the fire trucks; all the lights were flashing wildly,” Sandstrom recounted. “Then we got close enough to see exposed framing, melted siding, windows busted out and missing sections of roof. It became real very quickly.”

Sandstrom credits the responding fire departments of Newberry and Fairview townships, as well as Goldsboro, with being “awesome, helpful and kind.” They even managed to rescue the family cat, Pirate.

The Newberry fire department reported in a Facebook post that one firefighter slipped and fell in the icy conditions outside the home. He was treated at the scene by EMS and fire crews, then transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Sandstrom said he was told by fire officials at the scene the likely cause of the blaze was a chimney fire, fueled by a wood-burning stove in the basement that the family used for heat for the past 25 years.

“They took us through the house,” Sandstrom said of the on-scene fire officials. “The firemen said it’s a total loss. Most of the house is gone. There isn’t any furniture. It’s all burned up. Most of the exterior walls are gone. Where you used to see a wall, now you see the backyard. It’s destroyed. We’re going to be starting over.”

Asked about a dollar figure for the loss, Sandstrom said, “I wouldn’t even know how to calculate that.”

The work of starting over began Sunday evening. With the help of neighbors, Sandstrom and his family began salvaging his many musical instruments from the basement, an area spared from the flames but not smoke and water damage.

Thus far, the music instructor and church musical director said they’ve been able to rescue some keyboards and sound systems, along with a trumpet, clarinet, flute and trombone.

“I’m still looking for my saxophone,” he said.

As for any other belongings, Sandstrom said, “We don’t have any.”

But the family does have the help of their church, Collective Journey Seventh-day Adventists of York, as well as an appointment with the American Red Cross later Monday.

“There’s definitely been an outpouring of support,” Sandstrom said. “So many people have reached out.”

For now, the family is living with relatives. A second son, Morgan, 24, who also lives at the house, is currently working out of state. Most everything else is up in the air.

“You have to start again. I don’t know how this works,” Sandstrom said. “We have faith in God to get us through all this.”

One thing’s for sure, come next Sunday afternoon the Sandstroms will be watching their beloved Eagles in the NFC Championship against the Washington Commanders. They just don’t know from where.

As for this past Game Day, there’ll be plenty of memories — just not the kind they ever expected.

“We’re never going to forget this one,” Sandstrom said.

General news

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Sunday's snowstorm left the region blanketed with between 3 inches of snow to nearly 10 inches, depending on the location.

The highest totals were in Lebanon County, with Palmyra reporting 9.8 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. The lowest total was reported in Hanover - just three inches.

Other snow totals in York and Adams counties, according to the weather service, were:

McSherrystown: 6.1

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Littlestown: 6

York Springs: 5.5

Spring Grove: 7.8

Emigsville: 7.5

York: 6.3

Red Lion: 6

Stonybrook: 5.6

Glen Rock: 5

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Expect the snow to stick around until at least the end of the week as the region is expected to be blasted with Arctic air. The high Monday wasn't expected to exceed 9 degrees with wind chills making it fee below zero, according to the weather service. The single-digit temperatures are expected to last until Friday, when temperatures may climb to 20 degrees, according to the weather service.

The weather service has forecast that temperatures may reach the mid 30s on Saturday, making it feel downright balmy after a few days in the deep freeze.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: How much snow did we get in south-central PA? Here are totals

Weather forecasters can feel pretty good about their predictions for Sunday’s storm.

They said a fast-moving storm would drop the heaviest amounts of snow during the afternoon hours, and accumulate 4 to 6 inches.

As weather spotters reported their total while skies began to clear on Sunday night, those predicted amounts turned out to be spot-on.

Based on the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast for the week, whatever snow that fell will stick around into next weekend.

A multi-day period of bitter cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills is expected late Sunday night through Wednesday night, according to the NWS, with wind-chill values as low as 10 to 25 degrees below zero Monday and Tuesday nights in a few spots around the state.

Highs might top 20 degrees on Monday and not leave the teens on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Average temperatures for the month in Harrisburg are 2.5 degrees below normal, and that average will only drop more this week.

As for the storm, it affected most of the central and all of the eastern sections of the state, with the mountains and western half of the state missing out.

Per the NWS, here are the snowfall totals from Sunday’s storm:

Here are some totals from eastern Pa., according to NBC10 in Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley News.

The snowstorm is the first part of a wintry week, with a record-setting cold spell starting on Monday.

How cold is it about to get? Most of Pennsylvania won’t see the temperature reach the freezing mark until Friday at the earliest, with wind chills values in the teens during the day and near or below zero at night through Tuesday night.

Even Wednesday looks brutally cold despite the winds dying down, with highs in the teens and a low that night in the single digits.

Temperatures will moderate Thursday through Sunday.

No precipitation is in the forecast.

Per the NWS, here’s the seven-day forecast for Harrisburg:

Monday: Mostly sunny, high near 21 and gusts to 25 mph

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, low around 5 and wind chill values as low as -5

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, high near 18, and wind chill values as low as -5

Tuesday night: Mostly cloudy, low around 2

Wednesday: Sunny, high near 16

Wednesday night: Mostly cloudy, low around 3

Thursday: Mostly sunny, high near 26

Thursday night: Partly cloudy, low around 8.

Friday: Mostly sunny, high near 31.

Friday night: Partly cloudy, low around 13.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, high near 36

Saturday night: Mostly cloudy, low around 25

Sunday: Mostly cloudy, high near 40

The onset of the snowstorm is prompting everything from cancelations to snow emergencies across central Pennsylvania.

Many central Pa. churches either canceled or curtailed their Sunday worship schedule and other activities because of the storm, which could drop 4 to 6 inches across the region before it clears out tonight.

Those include the Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church in Dover, York County, which closed for the day at 10:45 a.m., Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church in Harrisburg, which canceled its morning service, and First United Methodist Church of Hershey, Dauphin County, which canceled all worship services and all afternoon and evening activities.

Considering that conditions are expected to worsen from late morning through the afternoon, anyone planning to attend a church service or other event on Sunday would be smart to check the website or social media or make a phone call to see if it’s still taking place.

The same advice applies for any business you were planning to visit on Sunday.

Many communities already have put into effect snow emergencies. You can view those at the following links:

More will be added to the list as they are announced.

Most school districts already are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day, although there could be lingering cancelations or delays on Tuesday morning because of the windy conditions and dangerously cold temperatures that are forecast to follow in the wake of the storm.

The Gamut Theatre Group in Harrisburg canceled its Sunday matinee performance of “Much Ado About Nothing” originally scheduled for 2:30 p.m. No scheduled date is planned. All patrons who purchased tickets will receive refunds that will go back to their original payment methods, the group announced. Refunds will be issued on Sunday, but it might take a few days before they are reflected in your bank statement. If you do not receive your refund by Jan. 25, contact the theater group.

Also, The Shops at Rockvale in Lancaster County announced via Facebook that they will not open Sunday.

One postponement already announced for Monday is the town hall planned by the Black Pastors United for Education (BPUE). It was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the New Covenant Church of Philadelphia,7500 Germantown Ave. It will be rescheduled at a later time.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

A Winter Storm Warning was issued for York and Adams County by the National Weather Service in State College.

In the announcement, made around 2:37 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, the weather service said four to six inches of snow were expected for the area, along with localized areas of up to seven inches or more.

The warning is in effect from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.

Snow was expected to begin light around 9 a.m., and become heavier by around 11 a.m., followed by the heaviest snow in the afternoon around 3 p.m., according to a weather service forecast.

"Persons should delay all travel if possible. If travel is absolutely necessary, drive with extreme caution and be prepared for sudden changes in visibility," the warning stated.

"Visibilities may drop below 1/4 mile due to falling and blowing snow," according to the warning.

Snowfall numbers have trended up over the weekend, with the weather service upping the numbers from three to four inches up to four to six inches in the area.

More:Take a web-cam tour of south-central PA area weather conditions

The expected conditions have led municipalities to begin declaring snow emergencies, which typically prohibit vehicles from being parked on snow emergency routes.

Paradise Township in York County was among the first to issue a snow emergency for Sunday, in effect from 10 a.m. on Sunday to 5 p.m. on Monday.

Cumberland Township in Adams County additionally issued a snow emergency for Sunday, in effect from 7 a.m. on Sunday until snow and ice are mitigated by the township.

Arctic temps expected next week

The storm comes as frigid Arctic temperatures are expected to move into the area over the next week.

Extreme cold temperatures were expected from Sunday night through Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Hanover was forecast to experience a low of -1 degree Fahrenheit on Monday, followed by lows of 1 degree on Tuesday and 2 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday, according to Accuweather forecasts.

In York, the National Weather Service said that minimum wind chill temperatures of -7 degrees Fahrenheit were expected on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

For Gettysburg, those wind chill temperatures were expected to be -3 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday and -1 degree Fahrenheit on Wednesday.

Previously reported on Friday:

Tired of snow yet?

According to a release by the National Weather Service in State College on Friday, another plowable snow is expected for York and Adams counties on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, and a Winter Storm Watch was in place.

In a snowfall map issued on Friday morning, the weather service forecasted four inches of snow in the York and Hanover area, with three to four inches around Adams County and northern York County.

"Changes in the forecast are likely due to above normal uncertainties regarding the timing and location of the swath of accumulating snow," said the weather service in a Friday release.

The snow was expected to begin around 10 a.m. on Sunday in the Hanover area, according to a forecast by Accuweather, and end around 9 p.m. that evening.

On Friday afternoon, the weather service issued a Winter Storm Watch that included York and Adams counties, warning that heavy snowfall and accumulations of four to six inches were possible on Sunday.

In the Accuweather forecast, three to six inches was expected for the Hanover area.

"Expect significant delays even if only a small amount of snow accumulates," a forecast from Accuweather said, while the National Weather Service warned of the potential for hazardous travel conditions.

Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com.