A snowstorm coming into Western Pennsylvania starting Sunday evening will likely impact the Monday morning commute.
Allegheny County will see between 3-6 inches of snow, and Westmoreland County will see between 3-10 inches, according to Andrew Kienzle, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Moon.
Pittsburgh is expected to see up to 5 inches, he said. The high end of the forecasted snow in Westmoreland will be seen in the southeastern portion of the county heading toward Seven Springs, according to Kienzle.
The updated snow totals are part of NWS’ official forecast as of 9 a.m. Sunday.
“It looks like most of the snow … is going to be coming in the night and morning hours,” he said.
The storm could start as early as 7 p.m. Sunday in northern West Virginia, meteorologist Matthew Kramar said, which would likely bring the storm to the Western Pennsylvania region sometime later Sunday night.
The remainder of the Winter Storm Watch has been upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning. A Winter Weather Advisory also issued just to the north of the warning. Images below contain more details on the upcoming winter weather. Latest at https://t.co/nR4yhzEq8F. pic.twitter.com/1x2cGfGHdw
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) January 5, 2025
Snow could still be coming down as people are leaving their homes on Monday morning, according to Kienzle.
“The impacts of the morning could still be felt across the region as people are trying to get out to work Monday,” he said — no matter the snow totals.
Allegheny remains in a winter weather advisory, but Westmoreland is now in a winter storm warning, according to the NWS.
“We’re talking about possibly needing to go up to winter storm warning in Allegheny County,” Kienzle said.
Starting at 8 p.m. Sunday, PennDOT will implement travel restrictions for some vehicles and roadways. These restrictions mean speeds will be lowered for certain roadways and certain vehicles will be banned from roadways. Vehicles and roadways impacted include:
• Tractors without trailers
• Tractors towing unloaded or lightly loaded enclosed trailers, open trailers or tank trucks
• Tractors towing loaded tandem trailers without chains or an alternate traction device
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• Enclosed or lightly loaded cargo delivery trucks and box trucks that are considered commercial motor vehicles
• Passenger vehicles towing trailers
• Recreational motor homes
• School, commercial and motor coach buses
• Motorcycles
• Interstates 70, 79 and 279, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, including the Routes 43 and 66 extensions.
Details on restrictions can be found at pa.gov.
The Allegheny County Department of Public Works said it anticipates snow will start falling in the county between 10 p.m. Sunday and 1 a.m. Monday.
Director Stephen Shanley said the public works department is prepared to clear and salt roads — regardless of how much snow ends up falling.
When the snow starts to fall, 28 salt trucks with plows will be deployed, and they will be out until the snow stops falling and roads are clear. It typically takes drivers one to two hours to complete the routes and then an hour to reload the salt to restart the routes.
“It will probably take our drivers longer than that tomorrow morning because of the additional traffic caused by the morning commute,” Shanley said. “So, there will likely be accumulation on our roadways at times tomorrow, especially during morning rush hour.”
Potential for more snow
Kienzle said the forecast is still coming together as the snowstorm gets closer. NWS will know more definitive information Sunday afternoon.
“The big thing to come together in this forecast is there’s going to be a band of heavy snow,” he said, which is a guarantee. “We’ve been really trying to hone in on where that band is going to be.”
As of Sunday morning, the band will most likely be in northern West Virginia, according to Kienzle.
“If it were to settle farther north, you would see those (snow) totals rise drastically,” he said of Western Pennsylvania.
Allegheny and Westmoreland counties are expected to see lower snow totals as of now because they sit at the northern end of the band of snow that will come in during the storm. Kienzle said the band would have to shift between 20-40 miles north for the Western Pennsylvania region to get more snow.
“Right now, the low end situation for Pittsburgh sits around 2 inches, where a possible high end could sit you around 6-7 (inches) of snow,” he said, if the band of snow shifted north.
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In Westmoreland County, a shift in the band of snow could mean higher levels of snow in all of the county instead of just the far southeastern portion, Kienzle said, toward Latrobe and New Alexandria.
“That’s kind of the question in the forecast as we’re putting it together,” he said. “Somebody’s definitely going to get quite a ton of snow … that all depends on where that band sets up tomorrow morning.”