Region can expect drier weekend as snow comes to an end

The Pittsburgh area can expect a drier weekend with slightly warmer highs as the sun reappears on Sunday.

After freezing rain, snow and sleet — and downed trees and power lines — made for dangerous travel conditions on Thursday night and Friday morning, the National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office expects the next few days to have only a few flurries after the snow wrapped up Friday night.

“By Sunday, it looks like it should be mostly sunny,” said Bill Modzelewski, a meteorologist with the weather service. “We should be back up above freezing again, with highs around 38.”

The storm that swept through the region Thursday and Friday was as severe as it was forecast, Mr. Modzelewski said.

Most areas of Allegheny County saw an inch or two of snow, with more in the northern areas of the region.

But some areas saw close to one-tenth of an inch of ice as Thursday’s rain froze overnight, Mr. Modzelewski said. Some areas saw as much one-third of an inch of ice.

The ice was responsible for most of the impact, he said, especially with downed tree limbs and power lines causing power outages across the region. The downed trees and lines, along with flooding, led to dozens of road closures throughout southwestern Pennsylvania and shut down light rail service in the South Hills.

And those downed trees and lines added to the number of customers in the Pittsburgh region who were without power as late as Friday afternoon.

As of 5 p.m., Duquesne Light reported about 1,100 customers without power in Allegheny and Beaver counties, including more than 700 customers in Crescent. The utility company said it expects to restore power to all customers by 1 p.m. Saturday.

At the same time, West Penn Power reported more than 15,000 customers without power in Washington County and more than 2,700 customers without power in Allegheny County.

Mr. Modzelewski said minor flooding concerns would persist into Saturday in southern Allegheny County along the Monongahela River in Charleroi and Elizabeth Borough, where the National Weather Service initiated a river flood warning into the morning hours.

Rain, snow melt and ice jams caused numerous smaller streams to flood throughout the region on Friday, but they had mostly receded by the late afternoon, Mr. Modzelewski said.

By 3:15 p.m. Friday, PennDOT had lifted all vehicle and speed limit restrictions on interstates.

“Due to the winter storm impacting the region, PennDOT temporarily restricted certain vehicles from using the interstates earlier today to help ensure that the interstates remained open during the most challenging conditions of the winter storm,” the agency said in a release.

Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, magisterial district courts and the Pittsburgh Municipal Court were closed on Friday due to the weather. The U.S. Courthouse in Pittsburgh was also closed for the day because of the snow and ice.

Pittsburgh Public Schools students spent Thursday and Friday learning online, as did students at dozens of other local districts.

The Mon Wharf parking area in Downtown remains closed indefinitely due to flooding.