It was a record day for snow Wednesday across the Pittsburgh region, with a total of 9.3 inches making it the fifth highest December calendar-day total, officials at the National Weather Service said.
The No. 1 spot still belongs to a storm that dumped 22 inches of snow in 1890. But, according to the NWS, it was a record for Dec. 16 when the previous high total was 1.9 inches, also set in 1890.
“For December snow, it’s notable that we’ve already topped our average amount,” meteorologist David Shallenberger said.
So far this month, the region has seen 16.1 inches of snow, easily surpassing the typical 12.3 inches.
The severe weather tangled with power lines across the region, leaving thousands of homes without electric service early Thursday.
Nearly 200 Allegheny Power customers were without power in the South Hills area, and another 450 outages were reported across Westmoreland and Armstrong counties.
In Shaler, more than 500 Duquesne Light customers are in the dark waiting for crews to arrive. A handful of properties in Ross, about 24 or so, were also without power.
Communications specialist Matt McDonald said crews have been working safely and quickly throughout the night to restore service.
In total, the company has about 900 customers without power across its service territory.
“We expect full restoration to be complete by 2 p.m. today,” he said.
Our midnight observation of 9.3 inches is the 5th highest calendar-day December snowfall on record for PIT. pic.twitter.com/zJucazHjGA
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) December 17, 2020
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto tweeted at about 5 a.m. that road crews will be working continuously to clear the snow.
There are more than 1,500 miles of roads, many of which will require multiple passes, he said.
State police in Indiana said that troopers have helped nearly 100 motorists with disabled vehicles since noon Wednesday. Trooper Clifford Greenfield said there have been 43 crashes investigated.
Greenfield urged people to avoid travel early Thursday if possible.
“If you must travel, allow extra time, be cautious and keep an emergency kit in your vehicle,” he said.
Just before 7 a.m., PennDOT lifted the speed limit restrictions that affected several roadways, including I-80 and I-95. Authorities imposed a 45 mph-limit on all interstates Wednesday afternoon as the storm ramped up.
PennDOT crews are working to treat roads throughout the day.
Some schools across the area issued “snow day” alerts, despite many of them being in a virtual learning mode.
Plum Superintendent Brendan Hyland said classes were canceled Thursday and encouraged students “to close their Chromebooks, go out in the snow, preferably with family, and have a lot of fun.”
Hyland posted on social media that it is “very important to feed the mind, but it is just as important to feed the heart and soul. It has been a tough year for our families, and you deserve to have some fun.”
A Message from the Superintendent regarding December 17, 2020
— Plum Borough SD (@plumboroughsd) December 16, 2020
Hello Plum Families, Due to the winter weather that has hit our area over the past 24 hours, the Plum Borough School District will be closed for all students tomorrow, December 17,... https://t.co/NU4mWCvWxr
Pittsburgh Public Schools on Thursday said there would be no transportation provided, although its students are engaged in full-time remote learning.
“The transportation issue impacts non-PPS families who receive PPS pupil transportation services,” the post read.
Fox Chapel Area posted on Twitter that the district would switch to virtual learning mode for the day. Currently, elementary students are full time, in-person and older students are using a hybrid model. All students were instructed to log on to Google or Schoology for the day’s lessons.
— Fox Chapel Area SD (@FCASD) December 17, 2020
Shallenberger said temperatures will remain in the low-30s through Friday, and there will be pockets of freezing drizzle that could make roads icy.
“We might get a few snow showers tonight but we’re not expecting much accumulation,” he said.
Temperatures are expected to climb into the 40s over the weekend.
Snowfall reports received as of 9 pm. Highest totals thus far are 12" in Bellefonte PA, 11.5" in Mackeyville PA, 11.2" in Frostburg MD, and 11" in Bayse VA. pic.twitter.com/BxgbHgI7bx
— NWS Eastern Region (@NWSEastern) December 17, 2020
