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Pittsburgh region prepared for weekend snowstorm

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh region is prepared for a weekend winter storm that is threatening western Pennsylvania with snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain.

>>RELATED: LIVE UPDATES: Weekend church, business closings

City of Pittsburgh

The city of Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Works announced changes Saturday to its plans for the weekend storm.

With rain expected in Pittsburgh Saturday and snow likely not arriving until early Sunday, crews are holding off on pretreating roads with salt. Pretreating will start once temperatures fall closer to or below freezing.

For the latest developments with this major storm, download the WPXI News App.

“Pretreating the roads with salt is not being performed until the temperatures fall, since this evening's rain would merely wash salt treatments away,” a news release said.

Drivers are still urged to use caution Sunday morning and be aware that icy conditions will be possible.

“Drivers and pedestrians should not let their guard down and need to still give strong consideration to whether they need to travel in Sunday's conditions,” DPW Director Mike Gable said.

Gable told WPXI's Aaron Martin Friday that crews will start treating roads with rock salt that has been on supply since last year. Liquid calcium chloride and blue-tinted magnesium chloride will also be used.

As the storm goes on and temperatures drop, crews will continue to ramp up efforts using only blue-tinted magnesium chloride. Gable said it works at lower temperatures, down to about 25 degrees below zero.

“We are ready. We are plowed up … we’ve been plowed up. We are loaded with trucks. We are going to chain up, depending on whatever the conditions present themselves out there. We have ample resources,” Gable said.

Officials at a grocery store in the Banksville neighborhood say they started buying extra supplies on Tuesday in anticipation of the rush on staples like milk and eggs.

A truckload of rock salt was expected to arrive at Kuhn's Market on Banksville Road on Friday night to restock shelves as well, a manager said.

Beaver County

PennDOT crews in Beaver County are loading up on a fresh delivery of salt in preparation for round-the-clock work treating and plowing the roads.

Planning for this for storm started several days ago, and PennDOT officials told Channel 11 News they are prepared for whatever Mother Nature brings.

Butler County

Road crews in Butler County are well-prepared for the storm, officials said, with 10,000 tons of rock salt and plenty of brine on hand.

The county remains under a Winter Storm Warning until 10 a.m.

Washington County

Washington County officials aren't taking any chances when it comes to this weekend’s winter storm.

District 12, which covers Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties, is armed with “196 plow trucks and 50,000 tons of material.”

PennDOT Safety Press Officer, Jay Ofsanik told WPXI's Shelley Bortz they're prepared for the worst-case scenario. He added that they're "dedicated to keeping everyone safe on the roadways."

Westmoreland County

Road and emergency crews are ready for whatever comes, but hoping for the best during this storm.

In Greensburg, Public Works Director Tom Bell told WPXI's Gordon Loesch the salt supply is good and his crews are working to make sure the trucks are in top shape.

Westmoreland County Public Safety Director Bud Mertz said extra dispatchers are on standby in case they’re needed.

“We’ve adjusted schedules, bringing in extra people, call takers - expecting our calls are going to rise,” he said.

Mertz reiterated that because of the state of emergency, there people should not be out driving around during the storm.

Electric utilities

Duquesne Light is bringing in additional lineworkers and contract tree clearance personnel as well as additional 24-hour operations and call center staff, the company announced. In total, the utility will have more than 200 field and support staff on-site for the storm.

Yuo can report outages or any dangerous situations to Duquesne Light by calling 412-393-7000 or by going to their website.

Duquesne Light offered these tips for residents ahead of a weekend expected to bring heavy snowfall and freezing rain:

  • Make sure there are flashlights, a battery-powered radio and fresh batteries in an easily accessible area.
  • Always have a first-aid kit with current supplies in a convenient location.
  • Have an alternate source of heating available, along with extra fuel, such as wood for wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.
  • Know how to manually operate your garage door. If power is lost, your garage door opener will not work.
  • Use surge suppressors to protect sensitive electronic equipment, such as computers. If you are home during a severe storm, you may want to unplug sensitive equipment.
  • Avoid opening the refrigerator or freezer. Food will stay frozen in a fully loaded freezer for 36 to 48 hours if the doors remain closed. If the freezer is half full, the food will generally keep for 24 hours.
  • Keep candles away from furniture, draperies and other flammable materials. Also, keep children and pets away from open flames.
  • Use a camp stove, fireplace or can of sterno for cooking. Don't use charcoal or any other fuels in unventilated areas.
  • If you leave your home while the power is out, double-check that all heat producing appliances, such as stoves, irons and curling irons are unplugged.

Penn Power told WPXI's Renee Wallace that it will also have hundreds of extra lineman available from other states to help restore power to it's 13,000 customers in the area.

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