Cold snap: Area grapples with first taste of winter
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
A pedestrian takes cover under an umbrella from the cold rain Monday afternoon while walking along Main Street in Uniontown. Forecasters expect the moisture from the rain to lock into the ground and cause freezing conditions during a cold snap this week.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
After loading up with road salt, this plow truck heads out from Penn DOT’s stockpile on Route 40 in Wharton Township, Monday evening.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standa
As road crews prepare for a unseasonably cold night, a plow truck loads up with salt at Penn-DOT’s stockpile on Route 40 in Wharton Township Monday evening.
The area is grappling with its first taste of winter as officials from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Pittsburgh predict below zero temperatures will break record lows today in the Fayette and Greene county area.
John Darnley, NWS spokesman, said temperatures will start out this morning with a wind chill of about minus seven degrees.
Darnley said while there won’t be any snow accumulation, temperatures will struggle to reach a high of about 10 degrees.
According to Darnley, the record low reported in Connellsville for Nov. 18 was 21 degrees set in 2005 and nine degrees in Chalk Hill set in 1997.
Darnley said a winter storm system that is making its way across the U.S. from Alaska to the mid-west is to blame for the cold snap.
While the Pittsburgh region reportedly had between one-and-a-half and three-quarters of an inch of rain over the last 24 hours, Darnley said the areas to the north and northeast of the state received two to three inches of snow.
“We’re not expecting any flooding, but the rain will be locked up and freeze into the ground through the week,” Darnley said.
Valerie Petersen, community relations coordinator for PennDot District 12, which covers Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, said crews start preparing for winter as soon as the previous season ends. “They look at their supplies in their counties and determine if they need to order more.”
In Fayette County, Petersen said PennDOT has 64 operators that maintain 1,703 snow lane miles with nine salt stockpiles.
Green County was reported to have 9,738 snow lane miles maintained by PennDOT with five salt stockpiles and Washington County, 30,879 snow lane miles with eight salt stockpiles.
Last year, Petersen said PennDOT also used 129,591 gallons of salt brine, a mixture of water and saline.
According to Petersen, crews start doing dry runs of their set routes in October to also get a visual idea of the area in addition to training for new and returning operators.
“We also have access to a weather service to see what’s coming down the pike, and we have people that constantly monitor it,” Petersen said.
Earlier this month, Petersen said, several trucks were out and about to treat roads in the mountain areas.
In South Union Township, supervisor Jason Scott said Monday was the first run for the 2014-2015 winter season.
“We’re ready for what mother nature brings us,” said Scott.
Scott said the township’s three supervisors/roadmasters, conduct hourly checks of the 112 miles of roads and alleys they maintain.
Although the township normally has 1,600 tons of salt on hand, Scott said supervisors agreed to construct another bin last year after their supply ran short in February enabling them to stockpile 2,600 tons.
Phil Mahoney, public works director for the Uniontown street department, said the city’s road crew remains on standby.
With four trucks with plows and over 400 ton of salt on hand, including road chips and ash, Mahoney said the city is prepared.
“We have all the schools, (Uniontown) hospital and courthouse,” said Mahoney. “We’re not a rural area, and we have a lot of responsibility with the hospital and multiple nursing homes, so we’ve go to keep everything open.”
Darnley said temperatures south of Pittsburgh will continue to be in the teens for the next few days with lows at night around 15 degrees.