Pittsburgh roads still rough after historic winter storm
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Allegheny County officials are urging residents to stay off the roads Monday as impacts from the historic winter storm linger.
Why it matters: Winter Storm Fern dumped more than 11 inches on Pittsburgh by 10pm Sunday — the city's biggest single-day snowfall since "Snowmageddon" 16 years ago, per the National Weather Service. Many areas in the metro region saw well over a foot.
What they're saying: Road conditions won't be great on Monday, said Matt Brown, Allegheny County's emergency services chief.
- "It's probably going to take the better part of the next 24 hours to get our roads better," Brown said on Sunday afternoon.
Zoom in: School is canceled across much of the region, including Pittsburgh Public Schools, with other districts shifting to remote learning.
- Carnegie Mellon and Duquesne will hold all classes online. The University of Pittsburgh canceled in-person classes, leaving remote classes up to professors.
- Over 40 flights at Pittsburgh International Airport are already canceled, with more expected, airport spokesperson Bob Kerlik tells Axios.
- Bus and light-rail service is expected to resume Monday morning, after Pittsburgh Regional Transit suspended travel on Sunday evening.
- County facilities, including parks, will be closed to the public.
- City residents will have their trash pickup delayed by one day.
Zoom out: Gov. Josh Shapiro said all of PennDOT's 2,200 plow trucks are out clearing the roads — but travel remains difficult. Drivers are urged to avoid travel, check road conditions here. You can also track plows!
Stunning stat: As of 10pm, snowfall totals came just 0.3 inches shy of breaking the single-day "Snowmageddon" record and making Sunday the snowiest day of the century — the most since January '94, per the NWS.
The big picture: The storm slammed the Southern U.S. through New England with snow, sleet and freezing rain, knocking out power to more than 1 million people and canceling 10,000 flights.
Between the lines: As of Sunday night, Pittsburgh had largely avoided the widespread outages gripping portions of the country, thanks to dry, powdery snow and no sleet or freezing rain.
- Duquesne Light reported no major power outages and Pittsburgh Water reported no water outages.
- Brown said winter storm power outages are often caused by drivers sliding into power lines on slick roads.
Yes, but: It's going to be dangerously cold for the next week, per the NWS, with temperatures plunging below zero.
- Four city warming centers will be open from 11am-6pm.
The bottom line: Stay home and make a pot of chili.
- Look out for Rialto Street shredders.
