‘This time, Mother Nature was getting the best of us’: Winter storm Izzy dumps snow on Washington County
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
In this January 2022 photo, Gabriella Nibbs, Cadence Hutton and Gianna Daube make snow angels at Chess Park in Monongahela. Youngsters will have to wait until at least March to play in the snow, as the near forecast calls for rain, not snow.
Evan Calloway uses his shovel to catch snow from Mike Petrosky's snowblower while they and Mark Hyslop, right, clean up the walkways outside of First Christian Church in Monongahela on Monday.
Doug Burig uses a snowblower Monday morning to clear the driveway to his Floral Hill Drive home in South Strabane Township.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Doug Burig uses a snowblower Monday morning to clear the driveway to his Floral Hill Drive home in South Strabane Township.
From left, Gabriella Nibbs, Cadence Hutton and Gianna Daube have a snowball fight Monday afternoon at Chess Park in Monongahela following the storm that dumped snow on the region.
Courtesy of Gabriel Harr
Waynesburg University canceled classes Monday because of the snowfall.
J.P. Henry and his son, Noah, sled down a hill at Canonsburg Town Park Monday afternoon. The two were joined by J.P.’s wife, Molly, Noah’s twin brother, Luke, and their older sister, Hope.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Families flocked to Town Park in Canonsburg Monday afternoon for sled riding, snowman-building and hot cocoa by a fire. The event was hosted by Canonsburg Town Park board and Friends of the Park.
Michaela McCarthy, 9, and Mason O’Reilly, 7, pick up speed as they fly down a hill at Town Park. The Canonsburg kids spent the evening with their family at the Parks and Recreation’s Snow Day, hosted jointly by Friends of the Park and the park board, which included a snowman-building contest, homemade cookies and a blazing fire.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Rebecca Stevens and her sons, Emerson O’Donnell, left, and Duke O’Donnell enjoy piping hot chocolate at Canonsburg’s Snow Day event in Canonsburg Town Park.
A winter storm moved into Southwestern Pennsylvania early Sunday evening, dropping 6 inches of snow on Washington County while Greene County woke to a light dusting Monday morning.
“Further south got a little bit less because there, sleet mixed in,” said Shannon Hefferan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. She said Washington County received an average of between 6 and 7 inches of snow, with some areas, like Hickory, reporting 9 inches of accumulation Monday morning.
Snowfall totals for Greene were not available late Monday afternoon, but Hefferan said snowfall there was not as significant as in Fayette County, which averaged between 5 and 6 inches, with Ohiopyle reporting 8 inches Monday morning.
“This still is impactful, hazardous weather,” Hefferan said.
It’s weather that road crews had difficulty staying ahead of. The consistent snowfall made it hard for Washington County public works departments to keep roadways clear Sunday evening through late Monday morning.
The main roads in the Washington area and Mon Valley were mostly clear by Monday morning, although gusty winds blew snow drifts across the surface of Route 136 and other roadways. Meanwhile, many secondary roads were, for the most, still covered by snow around noon.
North Strabane public works began treating roadways early Sunday evening, breaking for rest at 11:30 p.m. and returning to snow-covered roads at 4 a.m. Monday to clear main streets for morning commuters.
Though they worked diligently – roads were passable by 6:30 a.m. – snow continued falling and roads “just covered right back over,” said Tom Lovell, director of North Strabane Public Works.
“It’s been relentless,” Lovell said. “Last week, the snow was sticking to the asphalt. It was easier to clean. This (snow’s) just been hard to keep up with. We do the best we can. This time, Mother Nature was getting the best of us.”
He expected township roads to be snow-free by 3 p.m. Monday afternoon.
Donora Mayor Don Pavelko said Monday afternoon that borough roads were in good shape.
Seven trucks were in service working to clean borough streets. Pavelko said crews began working Sunday and finally took a break about noon Monday after 20 hours of clearing roadways. They were back at it after a short break.
“Everything is under control as well as can be,” Pavelko said. “The street department has the roads pretty much clear. I’ve talked to some people, and everybody seemed pretty happy with the condition of the roads. We still have some snow-covered roads. The main streets are open. All of the main drags are open and in very good shape.”
Monessen’s streets were in good shape Monday afternoon, too. Crews began working on the city’s roadways early Monday morning.
“It’s going OK,” Monessen Mayor Ron Moser said. “We’re plowing roads, and we’re keeping things going.”
Moser added that the city’s salt supply was starting to run a little low, but more has been ordered and is expected to arrive today. He said there was enough on hand to handle all necessary duties Monday.
“We’ve got salt to take care of what we’ve got going on right now,” Moser said. He noted garbage collection would be delayed by one day as a result of the storm.
California Mayor Frank Stetar said the borough got hit with about 6 inches of snow, but street department crews started working on the roads about 6 p.m. Sunday and had roads in good shape.
“The fire department didn’t have any calls last night, so I think we did pretty good,” Stetar said. “We have just as many state roads, if not more, than we do local roads. So PennDOT was doing their thing all night and then our crews worked until it was done.”
Melissa Maczko, acting safety press officer for state Department of Transportation District 12, said crews were working 12-hour shifts to treat roadways. Main roads are tended to first, followed by secondary roadways. District 12 covers Washington, Greene, Fayette and Westmoreland counties.
“Our crews have been out since (Sunday) at noon and will continue to be out until the roads are clear,” she said, adding that snow drifts and increasing winds were having an effect on the crews Monday. “We are out in full force. We are working as hard as we can to get all of the roads and keep them remaining passable.”
The storm’s severity forced PennDOT to temporarily limit commercial vehicles to the right-lane and reduce speed limits on several roadways in the region, including Interstates 70 and 79. Restrictions were lifted about 12:30 p.m. Monday.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m. Monday, Freedom Transit alerted riders that because of road conditions, fixed route bus service was canceled, and shared ride service was available “for essential medical trips only.”
Fixed route service resumed just before 11:40 a.m. Monday, with slight delays based on road conditions.
Most Washington and Greene County school districts were not scheduled to hold classes on Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but districts that initially planned to have classes, including Canon-McMillan and Washington school districts, used flexible instruction days and McGuffey switched to remote learning.
With Monday’s holiday, a number of businesses already had been scheduled to be closed. Several local businesses took to social media Monday morning to announce snow days or delayed openings due to the storm.
As of 2:30 p.m. Monday, West Penn Power was reporting 22 outages in Washington County – all in Centerville – and none in Greene or Fayette counties.
However, Todd Meyers, West Penn Power spokesman, said the situation was being monitored.
“This has not caused us any big trouble yet,” Meyers said Monday afternoon. “We’re prepared. We’ve been prepared. Our line crews are on call. So are our forestry crews. We have a plan in place. It’s just hoping nothing happens.”
Waste Management suspended trash and recycling collection on Monday and planned to resume pickup on Tuesday, with collections for the week delayed until one day after regular collection day.