Snow causes delays, speed limit reduction on highways across area
Motorists move slowly over snow-covered roads on Route 19 in North Strabane Township Tuesday morning. Winter came roaring in to Washington County on Tuesday, the sixth day of the new year, with cold temperatures and plenty of snow.
Time to get out the snow boots like this man and child walking along Jefferson Avenue in Washington.
Alicia Tacy of Washington uses a broom to clear her car of snow before heading to work Tuesday morning. Winter came roaring in to Washington County on Tuesday, the 6th day of the new year, with cold temperatures and plenty of snow
The snow that started falling early Tuesday caused school districts to close or operate on a two-hour delay and forced the state Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit for several hours on Interstate 79 and the Parkways West and East in Allegheny County.
PennDOT crews and municipal road workers took to the streets, but the quick-moving storm made the job of clearing the road difficult. In the city of Washington, 2.1 inches of snow fell by 11:30 a.m., said Tom Green, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. About 3 inches fell further to the south in Greene County.
“It was a fast, light snow,” said Valerie Petersen, PennDOT spokeswoman. “The crews were putting down salt and anti-skid material. But in this area, you can have completely different conditions within a few miles.”
“Motorists need to be cautious,” she added. “You never know what the other drivers will do, so it is best to drive slower than normal.”
Trooper Matthew Jardine, community services officer for the state police in Washington, said there were only minor problems with one crash reported on Interstate 70 near the Dunningsville exit. Troopers at the Waynesburg station reported two crashes before 7 a.m. Tuesday. Jardine said most drivers appeared to have been able to free themselves and continue on their way while others chose to wait and call for tow trucks once the snow stopped.
“The state police supervisors working Monday night were in direct contact with PennDOT so they were out early against this fast-moving storm,” Jardine said.
In Washington, crews were on the streets at 4:30 a.m., said Councilman Ken Westcott, who oversees the city street department.
“The salt wasn’t effective because of the cold, but they continued to plow until the snow was removed,” Westcott said.
“But there were no issues that I know of.”
The crews are split into two groups, one handling daylight hours and the other the evening. Westcott said both groups worked during the day Tuesday to clear the streets, but he expects they will go back to the split shifts Wednesday.
North Strabane Township police Sgt. Joseph Curnarski said township road crews were called out just before 5 a.m.
“When I came in this morning, I really thought we were going to get clobbered because the roads were so horrible,” Curnarski said Tuesday. “But the township and PennDOT crews have been out treating the roads.”
By late morning, township police responded to one disabled vehicle and had another driver go off the road in the 800 block of Thomas-Eighty Four Road and crash into a tree. He was not injured.
In Mt. Pleasant Township, vehicles had difficulty negotiating Fort Cherry Road on the way to the school district’s complex.
“Things are OK now, but it was a little ugly earlier in the morning,” said township police Chief Lou McQuillan. “There were no crashes, but there were vehicles stuck on both sides of the road leading to the school.”
McDonald police Chief Mark Dorsey reported no problems in the areas served by his department, which also includes Burgettstown and West Middletown boroughs and Independence and Robinson townships.
“The roads have been great,” Dorsey said. “The road crews have been Johnny on the spot.”
As this storm moves out, cold weather takes over, Green said. After a low of 10 Tuesday night, the wind chill Wednesday morning is expected to be 5 to 10 below zero, which could spur another round of school delays. Green said the high temperature will likely be just 13 or 14. The low temperature Wednesday night will be 1 with a 15-below wind chill expected for Thursday morning.
Green said some areas could see a dusting to half-inch of snow on Wednesday.