As snowy conditions wreaked havoc on Pittsburgh roads Saturday, Westmoreland County and other surrounding areas saw little more than a dusting.
Colton Milcarek, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon, said a snow band — a narrow path of snow — hit the city Saturday morning.
The snow band was caused by cold temperatures and wind carrying moisture to Pittsburgh from the Great Lakes.
“These snow bands really tend to be quite narrow and localized,” Milcarek said. “So, really, if you’re inside that band, you hit the jackpot. If you’re outside of it, you don’t see too much of anything.”
Snow accumulation was expected to taper off in the evening, Milcarek said. One to three inches was in the forecast for areas northwest of Pittsburgh.
Reports indicated there were more than 20 crashes in the area because of the winter weather, mostly in the city. An Allegheny County dispatcher did not have an exact number of reported crashes Saturday but said there were “quite a few” from the morning but there were no major incidents. Pittsburgh Public Safety spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
All 40 snowplow trucks were on Pittsburgh city roads by Saturday afternoon, according to a statement released by Pittsburgh officials about 2:30 p.m.
On-call and overtime crews were called in to assist with plowing.
Crews were to clear main roads and streets before moving to neighborhood and secondary roadways. The priority was on streets that lead to hospitals, emergency routes and public safety facilities, officials said.
Cold temperatures and a possibility of icy roadways will remain the rest of the weekend.
“With how messy it is kind of in the Pittsburgh metro and along the turnpike between Pittsburgh and the Ohio border, holiday travel — especially tomorrow early in the morning — might be a little bit slippery as you head out the door,” Milcarek said. “Especially on those untreated roads.”
Pittsburgh’s Emergency Operations Center directed all non-emergency calls to be held so that operators could prioritize communications involving emergency vehicles, officials said.
City officials advised people to stay off roads if possible so crews could clear roads “more swiftly.”
It takes 24 hours after snow has stopped to treat all city streets, officials said. Residents of streets that have not been cleared by that time should contact 311.
Allegheny County public works deployed 24 salt trucks with plows and have been continually treating county-maintained roads since 8 a.m., according to county officials. They will remain on their routes until the snow stops.
Officials said most county-maintained roads are just wet.
It takes county salt truck drivers one to two hours to complete their routes, and another hour to return to the nearest garage and reload with salt.
