A winter storm system arrived in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, bringing heavy snowfall to the Pittsburgh region.
Snow began falling in the city of Pittsburgh around 3 a.m. after a winter weather advisory was issued for all of western Pennsylvania along with parts of Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. Most of the area saw 2 to 4 inches, with Pittsburgh picking up 3.6 inches.
More than 300 schools and organizations adjusted their plans for Tuesday ahead of the arrival of the winter storm. Pittsburgh Public Schools initially delayed its start, but decided to close around 5:30 a.m.
Snow falls during morning commute
The snow fell heavily in the morning, making for a tricky commute. During the snowfall, PennDOT reduced the speed limits on several major roads, including Interstate 70, Interstate 79 and Interstate 376, down to 45 mph.
Jessica Riley / KDKA
If it was not easy moving on four wheels, it certainly isn’t on two.
“I was debating whether I should bike today because of the snow, but I’m like, very frugal,” Jeffrey Ye, a student at Carnegie Mellon University, said.
Ye was on the way to his internship on Tuesday morning, riding a bike.
“Stopping is kind of hard right now because the snow is so slick,” he said.
Liberty Avenue had a pretty good blanket of snow on it for most of the early morning. Multiple salt trucks were treating this and other roads later on.
Some people KDKA-TV spoke with expressed their love for snow, especially with it being the first significant snowfall of the season. But if you were trying to navigate the slush, though?
“For commuting, it’s pretty bad,” Ye said.
The symphony of sound following a winter storm echoed across Greensburg, Westmoreland County. Shovels and plows could be heard throughout the neighborhoods.
Ben Thompson got his day started at 3 a.m., cleaning parking lots.
“It was a slippery snow. Very slippery snow. I almost crashed at one point,” he said while cleaning up a lot.
“See who’s out here shoveling, just old men,” Brandon Hampton said while cleaning his sidewalk.
Hampton, at 73 years young, said cleaning this up gives him exercise, but it’s too soon to be getting all weather.
“I’m not ready for winter, and I’m not ready for the Steelers losing all these games,” he said with a laugh.
Greensburg Public Works crews started around 3 a.m. and pretreated roads. Between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., Mother Nature came back with a vengeance and canceled out their work.
“It totally sucked. There was no doubt about it,” Greensburg Fire Chief and Public Works Director Tom Bell said.
Chief Bell said there were no major crashes, and crews were able to clean up the snow after it let up later in the morning. He said treated roads shouldn’t turn into a mess like Tuesday morning.
“After we got the plows down and started pushing, it made everything a lot easier for us to get the snow and get the roads opened up,” Chief Bell said.
Crews work to clear roads
Road crews on Monday said they were getting ready for the snow and asked drivers to leave themselves extra time for their morning commute, slow down and give plows and other vehicles space.
Crews said the timing of the snow would make their work a little more difficult because there’d be rush hour traffic on the roads. But by noon, the snow had stopped falling and PennDOT’s traffic cameras showed plowed and treated roadways across most major routes.
Allegheny County has an online website that shows who is responsible for plowing, clearing, and maintaining your road.
PennDOT is reminding residents to remove snow from their cars to prevent hazards for other drivers. If you don’t clean off your car, you could face a fine.
Road crews want to get the snow off the road because of falling temperatures, and they don’t want sheets of ice forming.
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