The area's first major winter storm--even though winter doesn't officially begin until Monday--created snow-covered roads, tricky travel, and bus delays but otherwise has caused few major problems around the region.
The area is on the periphery of a major snow storm that has blasted the East Coast from North Carolina to the northeast, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.c., socking the area with more than a foot of snow with another 8 inches predicted in some areas.
At Pittsburgh International Airport, 3 inches of snow had accumulated by 9:30 a.m. today. The storm has caused the cancellation or delay of numerous flights that were to depart from East Coast airports.
Around Western Pennsylvania, slippery conditions caused numerous cars to slide off roadways or bump into other vehicles. But emergency officials in Westmoreland, Washington and Fayette counties reported no major accidents and no closed roadways.
In Allegheny County, a portion of Route 30 in McKeesport was temporarily closed because of an accident. No major injuries were involved, but electrical poles were knocked down. The road has reopened.
Officials at the Allegheny County Emergency Operations Center said they are still seeing sporadic weather-related accidents this afternoon, but reported no traffic snarls caused by serious accidents.
And that seems to be the same assessment of the region's major roadways, according to PennDOT District 11 spokesman Jim Struzzi.
"The roads are mostly wet and slushy with minor accidents here and there," said Mr. Struzzi.
As the storm progresses into the night and tomorrow morning, crews will be working to clear and salt the roads, Mr. Struzzi said, but motorists should also use caution.
"People ought to realize that it's winter, and slow down," he said.
In Pittsburgh, about 90 percent of the major roadways have been cleared and treated with salt, and crews are now working on clearing secondary streets and roads, said city Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski.
"We're moving along. Right now, we have about 30 percent of the secondary streets treated and as we move into the night, we will have a full crew with a goal of clearing up much of the snow by 8 am tomorrow," said Mr. Kaczorowski.
To the south, however, officials have declared a state of emergency for all of West Virginia, said Whitney White, a spokeswoman for the state police. With at least 20 inches of snow already on the ground in most parts of the state, officials are advising residents and other travelers to stay off the roads unless they have an emergency.
"The entire state is under emergency. We have people on [Interstate]77 South towards Beckley who have been stuck in their cars for almost 20 hours," said Ms. White, adding that the National Weather Service is predicting another 10 to 14 inches of snow tonight into tomorrow morning in West Virginia.
The West Virginia Turnpike has been shut down and the National Guard has been dispatched to parts of southern West Virginia, where the storm has hit hardest, Ms. White said. The state of emergency remains in effect until 6 a.m. tomorrow.
But during that period, the total accumulation of snow in Allegheny County is expected to be between 3 and 5 inches.
Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland counties remain under a winter storm warning, meaning they should experience higher snow accumulation, ranging from an additional 3 to 6 inches by tomorrow morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Charlie Woodrum.
Port Authority buses are running about 30 to 45 minutes behind schedule, on average, due to the storm, the authority reported. Delays vary by route. The Mon Incline was shut down briefly this morning, but reopened this afternoon.
<"The busways generally are in better condition. The T light rail line has not been delayed this morning," the authority said in a release. "Riders might head to major roadways to catch a bus as those roads generally are cleared more frequently than side streets."
In Pittsburgh, city Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski described the roadways as "fair to poor. We have a lot of crews out. We've gotten the primary roads and some secondary roads and are going back. We're in a plowing and salting mode."
He asked would-be motorists who don't really have to go out to "stay home and give us a chance to get to [the roads]." Some minor accidents, particularly in Beechview and Brookline, had hampered the progress a little, he said.
Also, he warned drivers of vehicles with 4-wheel drive not to get overconfident. "That helps you get up a hill but does nothing to help you coming down one," he said, explaining there had been several accidents that occurred in that manner.
First Published: December 19, 2009, 9:45 p.m.