A mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain left behind a coating of ice across the Channel 11 News viewing area Saturday, causing crashes and power outages.
The wintry mix began to spread across the region Friday night, creating icy conditions and slick travel into Saturday morning.
Moderate to heavy rain is expected to melt much of the snow already in place. In the meantime, a flood advisory is in effect in Pittsburgh until Sunday evening.
Crashes were reported throughout the day on Saturday in the aftermath of the storm, and untreated surfaces were most treacherous from 3 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday while freezing rain adhered to surfaces colder than 32 degrees.
The change from snow to wintry mix to rain happened gradually from south to north across the area, with areas south of Interstate 70 being primarily rain by about 7 a.m. The Pittsburgh and Greensburg regions saw a full change to rain between 9 and 10 a.m., with the Interstate 80 corridor hanging on to the wintry precipitation into the late-morning hours.
Power Outages
With the mix of snow and rain came the formation of ice, which caused further issues aside from impacting travel conditions.
Power outages were reported Saturday throughout the region, at one point affecting more than 10,000 customers.
Crews said most of the outages were caused by downed trees. Officials said only a few dozen Duquesne Light and First Energy customers were without power by late Saturday.
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Road Crew Preparations
Road crews across the area worked around the clock and told drivers to prepare for the worst. Anyone who didn’t need to travel Friday night into early Saturday afternoon was advised to stay home.
First the ice, then rain and fog. Visibility will drop in many areas through the evening Saturday. #WPXI pic.twitter.com/VVz1ymdsBp
— Stephen Cropper (@WPXICropper) December 17, 2016
"Our crews are ready, and they'll be hitting the roadways with salt hard (Friday night),” Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Cowan said, adding that more than 65 trucks pre-treated roads with a brine solution.
"The reason we do that is to prevent the snow from bonding to the roadway instantly,” he said.
Cowan had advised motorists to take their time, and if possible, avoid traveling until temperatures warm up.
"Give it a couple hours if you can. Let the roadways warm up. Let temps rise,” he said.
Pittsburgh Public Works crews began working 12-hour shifts at 10 p.m. Friday, with up to 60 vehicles on the road until the roads were clear. The city of Pittsburgh's "Snow Plow Tracker" was also activated. (
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