State of emergency pennsylvania:Due to the overnight winter storm, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is temporarily reducing the speed limit to 45 mph on several highways in East Central Pennsylvania, including Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County.
The county received at least several inches of snow in some locations.
Scattered traffic accidents were reported in the county as crews worked to clear highways and secondary roadways Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, Gov.. Ed Rendell declared a disaster emergency in Pennsylvania today as heavy snow and gusty winds cut off power to TENS of thousands and forced road closures.
At 11:20 am, PPL Electrical Utilities were reporting no power outages in Schuylkill County.
The governor’s declaration allows officials to bypass the bid and contract procedures to deal with the emergency. Pennsylvania National Guard forces had been deployed to help state police, Rendell said.
“This is a pretty Fierce storm!” Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said, adding that crews had been battling Blizzard and whiteout conditions to try to clear runways and other areas. Most airlines were not planning to operate before 2 pm Saturday, and three-quarters or more of the day’s flights could be canceled, she said.
About 17.8 inches of snow have fallen in Philadelphia, according to the National Weather Service, and totals are even higher to the west, with 28 inches in Upper Strasburg in Franklin County, 27 inches in Glen Rock in York County, 26 inches in parts of Blair and Somerset counties and 25 inches in Cambria County.
In western Pennsylvania, Allegheny Power reported nearly 120,000 customers without power and Duquesne Light had another 51.000 without power. Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania, also declared a state of emergency and urged all nonessential vehicles to stay off the roads to clear the way for emergency workers. Pittsburgh International Airport closed about 6 am but expected to reopen at noon.
Several interstates were shut down overnight as tractor-trailers stuck or downed power lines blocked roads, and I-376 leading out of Pittsburgh toward Ohio, remained closed Saturday, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Jim Struzzi said.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said the commonwealth’s system of toll roads remained open but had several trouble spots, namely between Donegal and Somerset counties in western Pennsylvania. Officials urged anyone planning on traveling to reconsider.
Larry Struble, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said the storm was on track to be the city’s fourth-highest snowfall on record.
Philadelphia also declared a snow emergency, banning cars from being parked on certain streets to Ensure access to emergency vehicles.
On Dec. 19, a storm two days before the official start of winter dumped 23.2 inches of snow on Philadelphia, the second-highest city snowfall since records began in 1884 and higher than the city’s seasonal average of 19.3 inches.
In Schuylkill County, the National Weather Service is calling for a chance of snow, mainly before 2 pm today.
Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 12 and wind chill values as low as -3.
Sunday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 23. Wind chill values as low as -4.
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