At a Glance

Feet of snow in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, buried downtown parking meters.The city decided to offer free parking until the meters are cleared of snow.

Feet of snow has buried downtown parking meters in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, for weeks on end, prompting city officials to offer free parking until the snow can be cleared.

Justin Knepper, manager of the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Development Authority, told weather.com the massive amount of snow in a short amount of time has made it difficult for the city's municipal department to keep roadways and sidewalks clear, despite working 12-hour shifts.

Within a 30-day period beginningJan. 21, the Upper Peninsula city of about 13,000 received nearly 52 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. So far this season, the city has accumulated 114 inches of snow, which is 17.8 inches above average. The city also received 29 inches in February, which 14.3 inches above average for the month.

Buried meters in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

(Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Development Authority )

Knepper noted that there are also other motivations for offering the free parking besides the inconvenience and the safety risk of trying to climb snowbanks to drop coins into the buried meters.

"We wanted to make sure we showed appreciation to all of our locals, visitors and winter tourists who continued to support our Downtown area," Knepper said. "We wanted to make sure that people knew we did not expect them to shimmy up snowbanks to pay the meters if the meters were buried."

Knepper noted that offering free parking because of so much snow is rather "unusual."

"I've worked here for nearly eight years, and we've not had this amount of snow all at once in quite some time," he said. "Usually we're able to dig out on a more regular basis."

(MORE: Dragon-Shaped Aurora in Iceland Captured in Stunning Image)

Knepper said he thinks it may take another week or two before the city will be able to dig out from the snow

Visitors will be able to park free for two hours at until the snow is cleared, the agency posted on Facebook.

"Please do not try to climb snow banks to feed the meters, and please continue to support Downtown businesses this winter!" the post read.