Snow expected to greet morning commuters

Forecast calls for 1 to 3 inches, followed by freezing rain and then just rain by afternoon

Buckle up for Wednesday morning’s commute.

The National Weather Service office in Moon issued a winter weather advisory from 1 a.m. until noon Wednesday across the region.

The forecast called for snow to begin about 5 a.m., with a range of 1 to 3 inches. As temperatures rise into the upper 30s, the snow should change to a mix of sleet and freezing rain in late morning for an hour or two before ending as just rain by early Wednesday afternoon.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s news partner KDKA reported nearly 30 closings and delays around the region as of 9:15 p.m. Tuesday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the city of Pittsburgh have taken a proactive approach to the coming storm by starting road crews early.

PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said the department had its 4 a.m. crew start at midnight in Allegheny County. It expected to have all 65 of its own trucks on duty as well as four rented trucks pre-treating roads in anticipation of a “very sloppy” morning commute Wednesday.

Pittsburgh Public Works director Mike Gable said the city would have crews that began work at 10 p.m. start pre-treating 1,200 miles of city streets.

The city also asked crews that were scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. Wednesday to instead begin their day at 2 a.m. to boost the number of trucks on the street from the normal 48 to about 75, Mr. Gable said.

The plan for city crews was to pre-treat roads with blue magnesium chloride until it started to snow, then switch to snow removal.

Although the precipitation was

expected to start right before rush hour, Mr. Gable said he didn’t expect the extreme traffic jams that occurred after a similar storm Feb. 3 because temperatures will be warmer.

He recommended that drivers try to avoid hills.

“I’d recommend trying to find the most level route possible,” he said. “Going up and down hills is not a good choice.”

Mr. Cowan said storms that begin right before rush hour are “always a difficult time” because “our trucks are stuck in traffic just like everyone else.”

“The bottom line is, we’re preparing and we will have everyone out working,” he said.

If the forecast is correct, Mr. Gable said he anticipated no problems with Wednesday’s afternoon rush hours.

“This is going to be a shortlived experience,” he said.

Penn DOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike have announced restrictions beginning at 6 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 80 from Interstate 79 to Interstate 99 and on the turnpike from New Stanton to Carlisle.

The restrictions include a 45 mph speed limit for all vehicles and a ban on empty, straight CDL-weighted trucks; all double trailers; tractors hauling empty trailers; any trailers pulled by motorcycles, passenger vehicles, pickup trucks or SUVs; and all motorcycles and all recreational vehicles.

Those same restrictions begin at noon on many roads in the eastern part of the state.