Winter blast drops several inches of snow across the region
A winter blast brought two rounds of snow showers that dumped several inches across the region Monday, but few issues were reported on area roads due to the number of school closures and preparation by plow crews ahead of the storm.
As of Monday morning, most areas south of Interstate 70 had received about three inches of snow while the higher elevations in Fayette County experienced around five inches of accumulation.
A lull in the action gave plow crews a chance to treat roadways, but another band of snow showers in the early afternoon brought several more inches of the white stuff, making conditions treacherous on state highways and local roads.
The snow was good news for people like Justin Long, who was using a snowblower to clear driveways and sidewalks for customers on Front Street in Brownsville. He has 10 to 15 customers on his list in the borough, so he was expecting a busy day with the multiple rounds of snow rolling through the region.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 picking up,无毛视频� Long said of business. 无毛视频淛ust checking on (his customers) making sure they无毛视频檙e all good, and sure enough they needed some shoveling done. Hopefully we have a decent winter. I kind of like snow.无毛视频�
Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties were under a winter storm warning that began Sunday night and lasted until 7 p.m. Monday as snow continued to fall throughout the day. Final snow totals were not immediately known because the snowfall continued as of press time, but the accumulation appeared to be in line with the National Weather Service无毛视频檚 prediction between six and 11 inches, with more snow farther south and in the ridges.
Washington County Public Safety Director Gerry Coleman said he thinks that advanced warning by the weather service helped people prepare for the storm and allowed schools to announce early closures.
无毛视频淚f you don无毛视频檛 have to be on the road, stay home,无毛视频� Coleman said. 无毛视频淧lus, a lot of schools and businesses are letting people work remotely. That helps when people aren无毛视频檛 out on the road.无毛视频�
As of early Monday afternoon, no major incidents had been reported in Washington County and surrounding areas.
无毛视频淣othing at all. I probably just jinxed us. 无毛视频� But knock on wood, nothing major out there,无毛视频� Coleman said of the lack of emergencies.
The state Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike reduced speed limits and placed other restrictions on their highways Sunday night into Monday, but eased them as the snow tapered off later in the day.
Greene County Emergency Management Director Rich Policz was pleased with how road crews prepared for the winter storm as they tried their best to get ahead of the weather as conditions worsened Monday.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 been much better than I anticipated. 无毛视频� It无毛视频檚 coming down rather heavy right now, but nothing major,无毛视频� Policz said of the lack of serious vehicle crashes as the second round of snow came through in the afternoon. 无毛视频淎ll I can say is the local road crews and local PennDOT crews are doing the best they can to keep up.无毛视频�
Susan Griffith, a spokeswoman for Fayette County无毛视频檚 emergency management, noted that the higher elevations were blanketed with more snow, but the vast number of school cancellations helped keep buses and motorists off the roads.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e been relatively quiet,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淚 think just because (the snowstorm) was predicted so far out and all the schools are closed, we haven无毛视频檛 had many or really any significant crashes at this point.无毛视频�