A SNOWY SELFIE
Logan, of Mount Washington, and Sara, of East Liberty, who declined to give their last names, take a selfie in front of a snow-shrouded city skyline on Sunday in Mount Washington. A winter weather advisory for the region has been extended to Tuesday.
The National Weather Service on Sunday night extended its winter weather advisory for the Pittsburgh area through Tuesday morning, with heaviest amounts of snow forecast for overnight into Monday.
By 7 p.m. Sunday, the weather service recorded 3.3 inches of snow at its office in Moon and predicted a light but steady snowfall to continue until Tuesday morning. Total accumulations are expected to range between 5 and 7 inches during the 48-hour span.
Meteorologist Mike Kennedy said the precipitation will remain as snow in Allegheny County — no freezing rain or sleet.
“It’ll be kind of nickel and dime,” he said.
Conditions could be a bit more treacherous south of Interstate 70, with the precipitation expected to morph into the ominous “wintry mix,” he said.
Around 7 p.m., NWS officials noted freezing rain in parts of Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, as well as in part of the West Virginia panhandle. Due to falling temperatures, the winter weather advisory now extends into those regions, officials said.
The city of Pittsburgh said it had more than 50 trucks operating from 10 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday. Allegheny County will deploy more than 24 plow-equipped salt trucks.
The county noted, if the storm were to get bad enough, officials have the ability to call on extra drivers and extend shifts, though they haven’t had to do that as of Sunday evening.
“The snowfall has been light so far, which has given our drivers plenty of time to get through their routes,” the county’s Department of Public Works spokesman, Brent Wasko, said.
Pittsburgh residents who live on city-owned streets can track the snow plows online with the city’s Snow Plow Tracker App.
Temperatures fell slightly as the sun set, creating the perfect environment for icy road conditions. Since 7 p.m. Sunday, the weather service warned road conditions were beginning to decline.
Drivers should be prepared for slippery road conditions over the next two days, especially on bridges and ramps. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation advised Saturday afternoon drivers should avoid all unnecessary
travel throughout the duration of the storm.
The same storm moving across the Pittsburgh region dropped 7 inches of snow on Chicago by Sunday morning.
Eastern Pennsylvania is expected to get hid harder by this winter blast, with Philadelphia predicted to receive 14 to 20 inches of snow by Tuesday afternoon, according to the NWS.
Meteorologists are expecting the snow to clear out of the Pittsburgh region by Tuesday afternoon, making way for partly sunny conditions.