Roads in the eastern parts of Westmoreland, Fayette and Indiana counties could become treacherous Saturday afternoon, when the National Weather Service predicts the area will get hit with freezing rain and possible snow.
The weather service’s Pittsburgh office has issued a winter weather advisory for that area and for several counties north of Pittsburgh, calling for up to 1 inch of snow and up to two-tenths inch of ice accumulation between 1 p.m. Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday.
Since the weather system is moving from south to north, the Laurel Ridge area can expect to see freezing rain before it reaches the Interstate 80 corridor, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Shannon Hefferan.
The system could reach the ridges of the Laurel Highlands as early as late Saturday morning, she said.
“There will be an impact on travel tomorrow,” Hefferan said Friday night.
Priming conditions for freezing rain and ice, she said, will be temperatures in the upper 20s at dawn on Saturday.
The same area of Westmoreland County was pummeled with an ice storm on the afternoon of Groundhog Day, stranding dozens of vehicles on a section of Route 271 in Fairfield Township. During that storm, a Greyhound bus skidded off the road, injuring two occupants.
PennDOT and Pennsylvania Turnpike officials are taking precautions in advance of the frigid weather front.
While planning to pre-treat roads, they’ve issued travel restrictions for several major routes:
Tier 2 restrictions will go into effect at 3 p.m. Saturday on:
• Interstate 70, and Interstate 81 from the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the Maryland border;
• The Pennsylvania Turnpike, from the New Stanton exit to the Breezewood exit;
• I-99 for its full length.
Under Tier 2 guidelines, motorcycles, trailers, RVs, oversize loads, truck tractors, empty trucks, buses and tractors towing loaded tandem trailers without chains aren’t permitted on the affected roads.
Tier 1 restrictions apply to all the same vehicles, except that buses are allowed with chains and loaded tandem trailers don’t require chains.
Those restrictions will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday on I-81 from Clark Summit to the New York border.