A snowy January in northeast Pennsylvania has residents bracing for more cold.

SCRANTON, Pa. — Just in case you’ve been spoiled lately, January delivered a splash of cold reality.

Two days of snowy skies, slick roads, and assured this week that more bitter air is on the way.

“We’re in northeast Pennsylvania, so you can’t beat it,” said Cassie McGivney, of Taylor.

All that was left was to clean it up, prepare for more, or maybe just embrace it.

Walter Reaver is one of the thousands who spent the morning shoveling a few inches of snow off their sidewalk. Reaver wore shorts to do the job. Years of hunting deer and fishing on frozen lakes made him immune to the cold.

“I’m feeling a little cold,” he laughed. “As I’m getting older, so probably another year or two I’ll be dressing…heh heh heh.”

In Scranton, cars and trucks parked alongside Gerrity’s Ace Hardware to stock up on rock salt for the coming freeze.

Cole Cardona’s business, Cardona’s Outdoor Services, is set, but Cardona still needed to stock up for himself. He loaded three 50-pound bags of salt into his truck.

It’ll help a little bit, do the job for now,” he said.

But for some, it isn’t enough to just endure winter. The weather is a reason to celebrate. 

If there is one group of people who are thrilled by the prospect of winter weather, it is the skiers and snowboarders at Elk Mountain Ski Resort near Union Dale in Susquehanna County.

Resort staff said roughly 6 inches of snow had fallen during the morning, and cold temperatures were expected to linger around.

Bring it on, said the winter sports enthusiasts.

“We love it out here,” said Monika Hannemann, of Maplewood, New Jersey. “The colder, the snowier the better for us.”