A winter storm began hitting the Pittsburgh region Friday night, with up to 4 inches of snow swirling winds of up to 25 mph expected throughout the night and into Saturday morning.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory through 7 a.m. Saturday for southwest and Western Pennsylvania, which is expected to see between 2 to 4 inches of snow.
Snow began falling Friday about 6 p.m. and sticking to grassy surfaces. By 9 p.m., a band of heavier snow worked its way into the region, stretching across from Ohio and the West Virginia panhandle with snowfall rates of up to 1½ inches per hour, according to the NWS. In a narrow stretch where that band was hovering, higher snowfall amounts could be possible.
Another quick update: 1) A secondary snow band has developed on the backside of the system with snow rates of 1-1.5" per hour. 2) A new winter storm warning has been issued for the Brooke/Hancock Co. (WV) and Jefferson Co. (OH) where this new band overlapped the initial band. pic.twitter.com/yc6NsZs5Kp
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) February 17, 2024
Temperatures were expected to drop into the low 20s by Friday night and rise into the 30s by Saturday, when more snow showers are expected in the afternoon, National Weather Service Meteorologist Lee Hendricks said.
So far this winter, the Pittsburgh area has seen just 11.6 inches of snowfall, below the 14.5 inches that was recorded by mid-February in 2023.
The Allegheny County’s Department of Public Works had 25 salt trucks with plows ready to deploy when the storm began, the agency said in a news release.
Typically, it takes plow drivers between one and two hours to complete their routes, then an hour to reload on salt, so snow may accumulate during the storm on roads where snowfall is heaviest, the agency said.
The City of Pittsburgh said it would deploy 60 trucks beginning around 6 p.m. to address snowy roads, Public Works Director Chris Hornstein said.
He also urged drivers to be cautious.
“Please be mindful of the road so our guys can get through with the plowing of the streets,” Mr. Hornstein said.
The trucks were expected to be on the roads until 6 p.m. Saturday, and Mr. Hornstein said the Pittsburgh snow plow tracker app remains inaccurate amid maintenance issues.
“We’re having trouble with trucks reporting into the system,” Mr. Hornstein said. “So the snow plow truck tracker is really inaccurate. If it is up and operational and folks are seeing that, just be mindful that that’s not going to be showing all the trucks in our fleet that are going to be working.”
PennDOT was also going be pretreating and plowing roads, spokeswoman Nicole Haney said.
Despite the weather, PennDOT officials said the HOV lanes on I-279 and I-579 in Allegheny County, the city of Pittsburgh, and Ross Township will remain open Friday and Saturday for concertgoers traveling to the Drake show at PPG Paints Arena.
Clear skies are expected by Saturday night, although winds are forecasted to pick up to 35 mph after midnight on Saturday, Mr. Hendricks said.
While the storm was expected to bring snow to the southwest part of the state, the brunt of the winter weather sweeping in from the southwest was expected to be felt in the higher elevations including the eastern parts of Tucker and Preston counties in West Virginia, where up to 7 inches of snow was forecast to fall.
First Published: February 16, 2024, 6:00 p.m.
Updated: February 17, 2024, 3:05 a.m.