Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024:
Rain for Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh, snow up north
A weather system coming in Wednesday night will bring rain to the immediate Pittsburgh region, but close to 20 inches of snow closer to Lake Erie.
A quarter-to-half inch of rain is expected with rain beginning after 7 p.m. Wednesday through mid-afternoon Thursday, National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Brudy said.
A high in the low 40s and a low around 30 on Thanksgiving will be warm compared to what’s coming.
In the Western Pennsylvania region, WTAE meteorologist Ashley Dougherty said it’s going to be a little bit dicey on Thanksgiving Day, mainly with rain in the morning. The bulk of the rain will happen in the early hours and taper off through the afternoon.
Snow flurries are expected the early hours on Black Friday, but Dougherty said it shouldn’t be too bad for shoppers heading out.
Beginning Friday night, lows in the urban areas will drop into the low 20s, Brudy said. Saturday and Sunday mornings are likely to be the coldest, when breezy winds will produce wind chills into lower teens and upper single digits.
Some lake effect snow showers are possible Friday, with scattered snow showers through the weekend. The best chance for any accumulation will be Friday, but will be very localized and are hard to place, Brudy said.
Those heading north should be mindful of the significant snowfall in the forecast. Close to 20 inches of snow is expected along the Interstate 90 corridor from Wednesday night through Saturday night, with more snow likely to be added to that Sunday into Monday, Brudy said.
Only an inch or two is expected in the I-80 area, he said.
For the Pittsburgh region, after a cold weekend, high temperatures into the beginning of next week are expected to be in the low 30s, below the average of mid-40s.
Slide repair to close Penn Hills road
Part of Milltown Road in Penn Hills will be closed from Monday through late January while crews repair two slides along the road.
The closure between Hulton Road and Newfield Drive is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. Monday, PennDOT announced.
An average of nearly 5,300 vehicles travel the road daily, according to PennDOT.
The posted detour is about 4.3 miles long. From north of the closure:
• From Milltown Road, turn right onto Hulton Road
• Turn left onto Saltsburg Road
• Turn left onto Leechburg Road
• Follow Leechburg Road back to Milltown Road.
From south of the closure, the detour is the same in the opposite direction.
Charges filed in phone scam
Two men from California have been charged in connection with a phone scam targeting a Crafton woman, according to Allegheny County Police.
Shuai Jiao, 34, of Alhambra, and Daxue Yang, 35, of Monterey Park are each charged with theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and financial exploitation of an older adult. They were denied bailed and being held in the Allegheny County Jail.
According to county police, the 71-year-old victim received a call claiming to be from the “Amazon Fraud Department.” She was told her profile was linked to more than $360,000 in illegal purchases, and that she needed to empty her bank account to “protect it.”
The callers identified themselves as federal law enforcement officials and coerced the woman to use her money to buy gold coins, county police said. She was told she would be given a check to open a new account after turning over the coins.
On Friday, detectives and FBI agents worked with the woman to conduct an operation targeting the scammers, during which they were able to Jiao and Yang into custody, county police said.
Jiao and Yang are scheduled for preliminary hearings Dec. 3 in Pittsburgh Municipal Court.