Speed limits restored on Pa. roads after storm; flight delays, cancellations at PHL
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The rain has changed over to snow, creating a messy morning commute Tuesday in the Philadelphia region.
The weather has led to school closings and delays and a mess on the roads. It's also impacting air travel as delays and cancellations are stacking up at Philadelphia International Airport.
As of 3 p.m., there are 141 delays and 31 cancellations into or out of PHL. PHL spokesperson Heather Redfern said a lot of the impacted flights are from the New England area - Boston, New York, Connecticut, etc.
Redfern reminded travelers who have flights scheduled for Tuesday to continue to check their flight status with their airlines throughout the day. She said even if the weather improves later, flights could still be impacted.
Airlines began de-icing around 7 a.m. at PHL, and crews were on standby overnight, Redfern said.
"Because this started as rain and because it's still a wet snow," Redfern said, "they really haven't been able to treat the roadways or runways. They are prepared to plow the runways in case they need to. It hasn't gotten to that point yet - it's still a wet snow."
Redfern suggested taking SEPTA to the airport on Tuesday and allowing for extra travel time. She also suggested anyone picking someone up from the airport check with the airline first and know the traveler's flight number.
"Check the weather where they're coming from - they might be delayed too," she said. "You don't want to make your way down here and then find out the flight's been canceled, they haven't gotten on another flight, or they've been delayed by maybe a few hours, and you have to go home and come back again."
How are the roads today? Multiple crashes reported across Pa., NJ as snow falls
After noon Tuesday, PennDOT lifted all speed restrictions across the Philadelphia region.
"PennDOT will continue to treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear," the agency said in a statement.
Earlier, messy road conditions led PennDOT to issue speed limits on numerous roadways in Pennsylvania.
In Pennsylvania from the Lehigh Valley up north, PennDOT implemented Tier 2 restrictions on these roads:
- The Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast extension
- Route 33 between I-78 and I-80
- Route 22 between I-78 and the New Jersey state line
- I-78 between I-81 and New Jersey state line
Over in New Jersey, commercial vehicles were restricted from traveling on these roads in our region:
- I-295 between Route 129 and Route 1
- I-194 between Route 34 and I-295
PennDOT said all restrictions have since been lifted.
We saw multiple crashes on roads around the region Tuesday morning.
In Coatesville, a crash closed the Route 30 westbound ramp to Airport Road.
Another group of crashes on the Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound have traffic restricted to one lane between Willow Grove and Bensalem.
There's a crash on the northbound Turnpike Northeast Extension after the Mid-County exit that closed one line.
In New Jersey, there have been multiple crashes on I-295 northbound between Woodcrest Station and Route 73 - and on the New Jersey Turnpike between Exit 6 and Route 206.