By the time you read this, quick-moving storm could be gone
Goodmorning. If you slept in Saturday, you might have missed the ice and snow storm everyone was making a fuss about Friday. But you won’t be able to avoid the expected aftermath.
That’s because the 4 to 6 inches of snow anticipated to fall over much of the region prompted Pittsburgh officials to declare a Level 2 snow event on Friday — and that means snow removal crews will have a full 32 hours after the storm ends to treat road ways.
The system, which prompted a winter storm warning, was expected to have passed through the region by early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
“[The storm] actually pulls out pretty quickly,” said meteorologist Tim Axford. “By the time people wake up, snow should be tapering down.”
The city said that beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, it would have at least 52 vehicles applying rock salt treated with liquid calcium chloride to roadways.
Complicating matters before the snow arrived was rain, which led to icy conditions on roadways after the temperature dropped below freezing Friday. The city said it was unable to pre-treat roads because the rain would have washed away the salt.
Port Authority said it planned to use special equipment called sleet cutters late Friday to keep overhead
light-rail vehicle lines free of ice. The authority also said snow might force some buses to travel only on main roads Saturday.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reduced the speed limit to 45 mph on several major roadways through the area, including Interstates 376, 79, 279 and 579, U.S. Route 22/30 and Route28.
Temperatures dropped dramatically Friday, from a high of about 60 degrees at 1 p.m.to an expected 13 degrees by Saturday morning.
“It’ll be a pretty steep drop in temperature ... it’s going to be very cold on Saturday,” said Chris Leonardi, another meteorologist with the weather service.
High temperatures were expected to be in the midteens Saturday with a wind chill close to 0, according to theweather service.
The weather service’s storm warning for Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver and Washington counties was set to expire at 10 a.m. Saturday. The weather service also issued a flood warning for those counties and others that would end at 5:15 a.m.
Flooding on Friday caused dozens of road closures in southwestern Pennsylvania. Quaker Valley, Ambridge Area and Canon-McMillan school districts canceled classes because some streets were impassable.
Rainfall totaled 2¼ to 3 inches from Thursday afternoon through 2 p.m. Friday, according to the weather service.
And here’s the most important weather news for many people: Sunday should be dry but cold for the Steelers’ playoff game against the sun-loving Jacksonville Jaguars. The temperature at the 1:05 p.m. kickoff is expected to be no higher than 17 degrees, with a wind-chill factor that could approach zero.