Live Winter Storm Tracker: Storm Settles But Messy Roads Left Behind
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Western Pennsylvania is dealing with a severe winter storm consisting of rain, ice, and snow throughout the region.
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Rain, Ice And Snow Hit Region
Saturday, Feb. 5
7:30 a.m.
Take a look at road conditions in West Mifflin with Ross Guidotti:
Watch KDKA's Ross Guidotti reports
7:00 a.m.
The snow and ice has settled, but this has given way for black ice and slick conditions outside. We're monitoring conditions with our Mobile Weather Lab all morning.
Friday, Feb. 4
10:30 p.m. -- The weather canceled 75 of 265 flights at Pittsburgh International Airport.
KDKA spoke with several people who either had their departing flights from Pittsburgh canceled or had cancellations or delays coming into the city.
Keisha Banks had just finally returned home from a trip she will never forget when KDKA caught up with her. The McKeesport native was in Texas for work when the winter storm hit, leaving her stranded.
"Delta had us stuck in Texas for four days for some little bit of ice. We got worse weather out here," said Banks.
WATCH: KDKA's Royce Jones reports
Devvin Lee, who is traveling the country on his vacation from work, waited 19 hours at the airport on Friday. He dealt with multiple cancelations at numerous airports this week.
"I just been chilling, resting, eating, lying down," Lee said.
Once the weather clears out of town on Saturday, the airport says so will most cancelations. Pittsburgh International Airport does recommend checking your flight status before coming to the airport.
6:30 p.m. -- Rain from Thursday into Friday morning caused flooding in Fayette County. Several roads were closed.
WATCH: KDKA's Erika Stanish reports
Finding detours around the flooded areas was difficult for some drivers.
"This is going to be about a 15- to 20-minute detour for me, at least, if not a half-hour," Fayette City resident Cole Johnson told KDKA-TV's Erika Stanish.
The biggest issues drivers could see Friday night are wet, icy conditions.
WATCH: KDKA's Erika Stanish reports
5:35 p.m. -- Duquesne Light has restored power to about 6,000 customers in Center Township, Findlay Township, Hookstown, Midland, Cooks Ferry and Hanover.
About 1,100 customers don't have power, but Duquesne Light still hopes to have it all restored by 1 p.m. Saturday.
4:06 p.m. -- A tractor-trailer overturned on Route 70 eastbound at the Bentleyville exit.
Officials say the truck spilled diesel, leading to multiple crews to respond for cleanup. There is no word on any injuries.
3:20 p.m. -- PennDOT has restored the speed limits on all roads.
Route 28 northbound is currently closed for two crashes, one of them fatal, although it's unknown whether they're related to weather. Read more here.
2:10 p.m. -- Duquesne Light said it has restored power to about 3,600 powers but there are still about 8,400 without.
The outages hit particularly hard in Center Township, Findlay Township, Hookstown, Midland, Cooks Ferry and Hanover, where Duquesne Light said there was heavy ice damage.
Crews hope to have power fully restored by Saturday, but because of the slow-moving storm, Duquesne Light may need to reevaluate the timeline.
A list of the company's outages can be found here.
12:30 p.m. -- An update from John Shumway in the Mobile Weather Lab.
12:08 p.m. -- PennDOT has lifted the temporary Tier 1 restrictions on certain vehicles from traveling on several roadways in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties.
The following roadways have been lifted from the Tier 1 restrictions:
Allegheny County
• Interstates 79, 376 (Parkways East and West), 279 (Parkway North), and 579
Beaver County
• Interstate 376 (Beaver Valley Expressway)
Lawrence County
• Interstates 79 and 376
11:54 a.m. -- Update from Lindsay in Latrobe: Route 982 has just reopened
11:45 a.m. -- KDKA's Chris Hoffman and Lindsay Ward are out on the roads, getting a look at the conditions.
9:50 a.m. -- Just in from the National Weather Service Pittsburgh:
9:40 a.m. -- A four-wheel drive vehicle had trouble navigating the twists and turns of Sycamore Street on Mt. Washington this morning and ended up flipping onto its roof. The driver appeared to be okay but was being taken to a local hospital to be checked over.
Officials are telling everyone to stay off the roads due to the layer of ice that is under the freshly fallen snow.
WATCH: John Shumway reports from the KDKA Mobile Weather Lab
9:00 a.m. -- Flash flooding is becoming an issue due to freezing, thawing, rain and ice jams. Here is some info from the National Weather Service on what to do to stay safe.
8:25 a.m. - Waters began rising to flood levels along the Connoquenessing Creek in Marion Township.
7:00 a.m. -- A flood warning for parts of the area has been extended to 11:00 a.m.
6:40 a.m. - One rail car is currently able to service the Silver Line between Library and Downtown.
6:20 a.m. - Rail lines on the 'T' are not running on the Silver, Red, or Blue lines, according to the Port Authority due to icy conditions. Click here for details.
6:15 a.m. -- Drivers near Rt. 982 in Westmoreland County encountered trouble as roadways flooded early Friday morning.
WATCH: KDKA's Lindsay Ward reports
Drivers in the area were ignoring signs and passing through flooded areas.
6:00 a.m. -- Conditions in Butler County featured snow and ice covering roadways making for treacherous travel.
WATCH: John Shumway reports from the KDKA Mobile Weather Lab:
5:30 a.m. - Meteorologist Mary Ours reports on the potential for flooding. Click here.
5:00 a.m. - Shaler Police are reporting that a stretch Geyer Road is closed due to a clogged catch basin.
4:00 a.m. - Duquesne Light and First Energy are reporting power outages.
Over 5,000 Duquesne Light customers are without power, while nearly 19,00 homes with FirstEnergy are in the dark in Washington County.
WATCH: Bryant Reed reports
3:00 a.m. -- According to the National Weather Service, the rainfall record for the day of February 3 was tied in Pittsburgh with 1.02" of rain.
Thursday, Feb. 3
11:30 p.m. -- As temperatures begin to drop, the freezing rain/snow in the northern part of the region is moving toward Pittsburgh and the southern counties.
KDKA Meteorologist Ray Petelin has an up-to-the-minute forecast detailing everything you need to know.
WATCH: Ray Petelin's forecast
11:20 p.m. -- Fayette and Westmoreland counties have not seen a lot of ice so far. It has been raining all day in the counties, leading to concerns about flooding.
Westmoreland County said its Swift Water Rescue Team is on standby. Streams, rivers and low-lying areas are places of concern for officials.
"Our main concern is just tomorrow's morning commute," said Cassandra Kovatch, a PIO for the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety. "So we will be monitoring the traffic flow, but our main message right now to the public is just to avoid travel if all possible."
WATCH: Erika Stanish reports
11:15 p.m. -- In the North Hills, trees and shrubs are covered in ice, though crews are making their way through the area to treat roads as they can.
WATCH: Royce Jones reports
11:10 p.m. -- Roads in Beaver and Lawrence counties are covered in snow. Multiple trees have fallen over due to the ice accumulation, and hundreds of residents are in the dark.
Ice is also causing power lines to sag and fall in Hopewell Township. Officials say to avoid any down power lines.
WATCH: Jessica Guay reports
10:50 p.m. -- FirstEnergy reports more than 10,000 customers in Washington County are without power tonight.
8:30 p.m. -- If you must drive tonight or Friday morning, AAA has some tips to keep yourself and others safe.
7:58 p.m. -- PennDOT is continuing to update restrictions on roads across western Pennsylvania. For the most up-to-date restrictions, click here.
7:08 p.m. -- KDKA-TV viewer Sherry Presutti sent in a video of a transforming blowing on the Steubenville Pike in Burgettstown near Busey Road.
FirstEnergy reports more than 2,000 customers are currently without power.
6:33 p.m. -- Flooding is a concern in Greensburg, where Westmoreland is one of several counties under a Flood Warning. Melting snow and steady rain are creating flooding concerns.
"We're also going to keep an eye out for the potential for any of our swift-water rescue teams in the county to need to be activated in response to any of the major flooding concerns. But at this time, our main concern is just tomorrow's morning commute. So we'll be monitoring the traffic flow, but our main message right now to the public is just to avoid travel if all possible," said Cassandra Kovatch with the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety.
Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington and Monongalia are also under the warning.
WATCH: KDKA's Erika Stanish reports
6:18 p.m. -- A part of Route 48, also known as Long Run Road, in White Oak is closed for flooding.
Water is bubbling from a manhole. Crews saidrainwater from a nearby creek overwhelmed the sewer system.
WATCH: KDKA's Royce Jones reports
6:07 p.m. -- Crews across the South Hills spent the past 24 hours prepping the snow trucks and fine-tuning emergency alert systems.
Brentwood Emergency Management Coordinator John Balkovec said he's been prepping snow trucks and making sure the borough's emergency notification system is good to go in case they need to send safety alerts to residents. He said he hopes the switch to snow happens fast and doesn't leave crews dealing with hours of straight ice.
WATCH: KDKA's Meghan Schiller reports
6:04 p.m. -- A mix of sleet and freezing rain is coming down on I-376 in Beaver County. The roads are starting to get icy and a little slippery.
KDKA's Jessica Guay reports some of the worst conditions she's seen were in the New Castle area of Lawrence County where some parts of the highway were covered in ice. One car appeared to veer off the road and get stuck on a median strip.
WATCH: Jessica Guay reports from the KDKA Mobile Weather Lab
6:02 p.m. -- The weather was impacting many of our northern counties including Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence. For much of the day, Beaver and Butler saw rain while Lawrence saw more freezing rain conditions.
Dispatchers in Beaver County said there were only minor incidents. Some first responders found some slick spots but got road crews to address them.
PennDOT had 36 crew out in Beaver County, 23 in Lawrence and 35 in Butler.
The next concern will be the morning rush when snow is expected to start falling.
"The men and women are out there doing what they do through winter for us. They're are doing a great job. They are taking care of the roadways as much as they are able to between rains and everything else that's coming to us. They will be at it all night and all morning," Tina Gibbs with PennDOT District 10 said over Zoom.
WATCH: KDKA's Chris Hoffman reports
5:35 p.m. -- Nearly 100 flights have been canceled at Pittsburgh International Airport. Some flights are already canceled for Friday.
"We're advising passengers to make sure you check with your airlines in advance before you come to the airport about your flight status. Things change, cancelations can happen quickly," Bob Kerlik, Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesperson, said.
Click here for more.
5:15 p.m. -- Tier 4 restrictions are in place on multiple roads.
The restrictions are in place on I-79, I-279, I-579, Route 28 and I-376 between Business Loop 376 at Exit 57 and the Turnpike in Allegheny County. It also impacts I-79 in Lawrence County.
Tier 4 restrictions mean no commercial vehicles are allowed, neither are passenger cars towing trailers, buses, motor coaches, motorcycles and RVs.
4:25 p.m. -- The NWS issued an Areal Flood Warning for Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Washington, Westmoreland and Monongalia counties until 7 a.m. Friday. The word "areal" means "area wide."
Click here for more.
4:15 p.m. -- KDKA's Jessica Guay is reporting from the Mobile Weather Lab.
3:30 p.m. -- South Hills Village and Ross Park Mall will be closing early today, Thursday, Feb. 3, at 5 p.m. Individual restaurant, department store and theatre hours may vary. Initial plans are to reopen at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 4, but they are continuing to monitor the situation.
3:15 p.m. -- Duquesne Light said it's adding extra field crews to address any outages safely and as quickly possible, although some response times may be delayed because of potentially hazardous road conditions.
Duquesne Light customers are reminded to call 911 for any medical issues that may be impacted by an outage and avoid downed power lines. The quickest way to report a power outage is online.
At this time, Duquesne Light's website says there are seven active outages affecting a little fewer than 500 customers.
2:03 p.m. -- Due to deteriorating weather conditions, President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark has ordered the closure of all divisions of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Allegheny County Magisterial District Courts, and Pittsburgh Municipal Court at 2 p.m. today, February 3, 2022. Arraignment Court will remain open.
1:50 p.m. -- The mayor of Bethel Park has declared a winter storm emergency.
Residents are urged to move their cars into their driveways, keep garbage cans off the street and make sure phones and computers are charged. They're also asked to check on elderly neighbors or those who may need help and make sure fire hydrants are clear and accessible.
1:20 p.m. -- KDKA Meteorologist Mary Ours is tracking the line of freezing rain, which is starting to move into the area. Get her forecast here.
