About 2,600 First Energy customers in Allegheny County and 17,400 in Washington County were without power at noon Friday after a winter storm moving through Southwestern Pennsylvania transitioned from freezing rain and sleet to snow.

An additional 6,000 Duquesne Light customers also were in the dark, the utility reported just before noon, up from 5,400 at 6 a.m.

Officials had expected service interruptions with ice accumulations on power lines and trees.

The National Weather Service in Moon initially predicted the storm ultimately would dump up to 3 inches of snow on Pittsburgh and areas to the east.

“It will be a little lower than that, probably around 1 to 2 inches,” said Jared Rackley, a meteorologist with the weather service. He said the storm “took a little bit longer to transition to snow than we thought.”

With scattered power outages across the region due to ice, make sure to practice generator safety. https://t.co/JUP71MEeh4

— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) February 4, 2022

As of 6 a.m, Pittsburgh and areas to the west had transitioned from a wintry mix to snow, Rackley said. He said the eastern areas of Westmoreland County still were experiencing mixed precipitation but should expect snow to fall within the next few hours.

“We’ll be getting a break (from snow) in the next couple of hours,” he said. “Then we should see another inch and a half across the area.”

That snowfall, he noted, will be on top of 1 to 2 inches of sleet.

The viaduct crossover road connecting the eastbound and westbound lanes of Rt.30 along the border of Derry and Ligonier townships is closed Friday due to high waters of the Loyalhanna Creek. pic.twitter.com/nnhZG7fkdo

— Paul Peirce (@ppeirce_trib) February 4, 2022

Flooding also was a concern in the area because of a combination of excessive rainfall and melting snow. The National Weather Service extended a flood warning until 7 p.m. Friday for most of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

In Westmoreland County on Friday morning, firefighters rescued motorists from vehicles caught in high water on the New Stanton-Ruffs Dale Road near the village of Hunker and on Hillis Street in Youngwood.

The Ohio River is expected to crest at 19.5 feet at 1 a.m. Saturday at Pittsburgh, a level which is known to completely flood the Monongahela Parking Wharf in Downtown.

Icy roads keeping people off the roads in Ligonier Friday. Rarely see all metered parking spaces vacant @ 9 a.m on a Friday! Ice pellets still coming down. pic.twitter.com/Xnuk7IDzZb

— Paul Peirce (@ppeirce_trib) February 4, 2022

Weather interrupts transportation

Public transportation in the Pittsburgh area has taken a hit from the storm.

The Port Authority cautioned commuters Friday morning to expect significant delays in T rail service in the South Hills, reporting that a portion of overhead power line near the rail center there “went down… trapping all of our rail cars and rendering the line all but unusable.”

“One rail car was out at the time and is being used to serve the Silver Line from Library to Downtown and back,” said authority spokesman Adam Brandolph. “A bus shuttle is operating between South Hills Village and downtown but is only able to serve high-level platform stops.

“With temperatures not expected to rise much throughout the day, quick repairs and restoration of the rail system will be difficult, but our crews are out there trying as hard and working as quickly as they can.”

In Allegheny County, flooding caused PennDOT to close part of Route 48 at Cool Springs Road.

Portions of these additional state roads were closed Friday because of flooding or downed trees or utilities:

Westmoreland County

• Route 381 in Ligonier Township, between Club Stable Road and Route 30, flooding

• Route 982 in Derry Township, between the on-ramp from Route 30 and Mission Road, flooding.

• Armbrust Road in Hempfield, between Fairground Road and Route 819, flooding

• Buttermore Avenue, between Plastic Factory Road in East Huntingdon and Bridge and Hunker Waltz Mill Road in New Stanton, flooding

Fayette County

• Tom Cat Hollow Road in Nicholson Township, between Geneva Road and Township Road 360, flooding

• Albany Road between Shearer Road in Jefferson Township and Market Street in Brownsville, flooding

Washington County

• McKee Road, between Boone Road in Canton Township and Prigg Road in Buffalo Township, downed utility

• Route 40 in Buffalo Township, between Route 221 and East Buffalo Church Road, downed utility

• Route 40 in South Strabane Township, between Zediker Station and Chestnut Ridge roads, lane restriction for a downed tree

• Route 231 in East Finley Township, between Elm Road and Burnsville Ridge Road/Pleasant Grove Road, downed tree

• Route 980 in Cecil Township, at the intersection of Crothers Lane, downed utility.

• Joffre Bulger Road in Smith Township, between Columbia Drive and Joffre Cherry Valley Road, downed tree

• West Finley Road in West Finley Township, between Beham Ridge and Robison Run roads, downed tree.

• Dutch Fork Church Road in Donegal Township, between Route 231 and Lake Road, downed utility

Greene County

• Davistown Road in Perry Township, between Watkins Run Road and Route 19, flooding

• Green Valley Road in Cumberland Township, between Muddy Creek Road and Bessie Lane, flooding

• Buckeye Road in Perry Township, between Big Shannon Road and the West Virginia state line, flooding

• Big Shannon Run Road in Whiteley Township, between Bacon Run and Little Shannon roads, flooding

• Carmichaels Road in Cumberland Township, between Muddy Creek and Green Valley roads, flooding

Speed limits are temporarily reduced to 45 mph on the Parkways East, West and North, Interstate 579 and Route 28 in Allegheny County, on the Beaver Valley Expressway in Beaver County and on I-79 and I-80 from the Ohio line to I-99.

Follow PennDOT’s Southwestern Pennsylvania Twitter feed at Twitter.com/511PAPittsburgh.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---