It looks like Pittsburghers won’t get a White Christmas this year.
But meteorologists warn that Mother Nature is set to unleash ice, sleet and “a little bit of snow” just a day later — and the officials in charge of Pennsylvania’s roads are gearing up for a winter storm amid heavy holiday travel.
The first of two “clippers,” storm fronts starting in Canada and sweeping past the Great Lakes into Western Pennsylvania, will bring light rain — with little to no accumulations — before sunrise Thursday.
The second clipper is where the weather could get dicey. The National Weather Service has put Pittsburgh under a winter storm watch from Friday to Saturday mornings.
“It looks like it’s going to be intense,” said Andrew Kienzle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon Township. “There could be a decent ice storm Friday. It’s mainly north and east of Pittsburgh. But there could be a glaze on roads in and around Pittsburgh.”
Kienzle told TribLive that Friday’s temperatures, lingering between lows in the 20s and highs in the upper 30s, will lead to the wintry precipitation, including “a little bit of snow.”
In the Pennsylvania ridges and near Interstate 80, he said, ice on roadways could accumulate to about a quarter-inch thick.
“And even a little ice can be impactful on what could be one of the busiest travel days of the year,” Kienzle said.
Interstate speed limits restricted Friday
PennDOT says some vehicles won’t even be allowed on many of Pennsylvania’s interstate highways — including those in the region.
The restrictions will keep commercial vehicles like tractor-trailers off the road as well as school and commercial buses, motorcycles, RVs, motor coaches and passenger vehicles with trailers.
Loaded single trailers with chains or other approved traction devices will be allowed access to interstates, however.
The restrictions will go into effect at different times on Friday, according to a release from PennDOT.
The first round of restrictions will begin at 10 a.m and affect every interstate in Western Pennsylvania.
The 10 a.m. restrictions affect roads like the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76), Interstate 70 and the turnpike’s Western Pennsylvania extensions.
At 2 p.m., the second round of restrictions will go into effect for those interstates east of I-81 and north of its intersection with I-83 near Harrisburg. Eastern Pennsylvania routes like Route 33, parts of Route 22 and eastern Pennsylvania turnpike extensions also would see restrictions.
Speed limits will also be restricted to 45 mph on effected routes.
Last winter in Pennsylvania, preliminary data shows that there were more than 8,300 crashes, 29 fatalities, and close to 3,000 injuries on snowy, slushy or ice-covered roadways.
Eleven of the people who died weren’t wearing a seat belt, and 17 of the fatalities were in crashes where a driver was going too fast for conditions and drove out of their lane.
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