Like the snow, the records keep piling up.
With 5.4 inches Friday and 1.2 inches by 10 p.m. Saturday night, snowfall this winter totaled 76.5 inches, making this the fourth snowiest winter on record. Eclipsed was the winter of 1960-61, which brought 76 inches.
With up to an inch more expected by this morning and another inch expected over the course of today, the season soon could be in bronze medal position for snowiest season on record. Next in the crosshairs is the winter of 1993-1994, when 76.8 inches fell.
"I think we're going to get it," National Weather Service meteorologist Pat Herald said.
Today, the weather service predicts scattered snow showers and a high of 35 degrees.
This is already the snowiest February on record, by far. The 2003 record of 25.3 inches was eclipsed by Feb. 10. By mid-afternoon Saturday, the season had surpassed the 1995-1996 season, which saw 74.5 inches of snow, and moved up another notch by Saturday night.
With all of the snow shoveling required this winter, Pittsburghers might be a barrel-chested, if dog-tired, lot by spring.
Pittsburgh Public Works Director Rob Kaczorowski said his crews, after returning to 12-hour shifts Friday and Saturday, were "burned out" and "beat up."
He said they're also still stinging from criticism of the city's cleanup efforts following the Feb. 5-6 storm that dumped nearly 2 feet of snow. "I know what they do," he said. "They performed admirably."
Mr. Kaczorowski said his crews "busted right through" Friday night's snowfall, thanks in part to a break in the storm about 4 a.m. By late Saturday morning, he said, all primary roads and half of secondary roads in the city were clear.
Joann Jenny, spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh International Airport, said flights out of Pittsburgh have not been delayed or canceled due to the weather. Given the predictions of mild temperatures and light snow, she did not anticipate flight schedules would be affected today.
More severe weather did force the cancellation of flights out of Newark, N.J., New York City and Philadelphia into Pittsburgh, she said.
Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said detours were necessary on "a handful" of bus routes due to weather conditions. The Port Authority Web site listed the 25A Robinson-Moon-Coraopolis; 46K Knoxville; 79D Mount Carmel; 81B Lincoln; 86A East Hills as of late Saturday night.
Correction/Clarification: (Published Mar. 1, 2010) The Spring Thaw Race was the 34th annual, and the sponsor, Elite Runners & Walkers, is located in Robinson. Those details were incorrect in a photo caption with this story as originally published Feb. 28, 2010.
First Published: February 28, 2010, 10:00 a.m.
