From 70 degrees to snowfall: Region gets weather whiplash

This week’s sudden blast of winter may be the last one for the season.

By PATRICK VARINE
TribLive

March madness took on a literal meaning across southwestern Pennsylvania early this week as a sudden burst of winter weather disrupted a string of springlike days.

While the snowfall didn’t reach historic proportions, the region saw a wild temperature swing, dropping from a high of 70 degrees Sunday to 24 degrees and sideways snow Monday night.

Most of the region saw between 2 and 4.5 inches of snow, which began falling early Monday evening and continued to build in intensity as the night went on.

National Weather Service officials said they weren’t surprised by the snowfall amounts as they tracked conditions over the past few days.

“When we looked at the computer model guidance, we saw areas with some potential for 6 to 8 inches of snow, but it all depended on the temperature,” meteorologist Bill Modzelewski said. “We were thinking that warmer temperatures earlier in the day would cut down on some of the snowfall.”

Those warmer temperatures didn’t cut down on the snowfall, and they didn’t stop it from accumulating.

“We were initially thinking an inch or two, but ended up with some fairly widespread snow banding that put down a layer of snow,” Modzelewski said. “And once that happens, even with warmer ground, it tends to start accumulating. Everything kind of came together to give us a little more snow than we originally thought.”

In 2022, the region had its snowiest March in decades, recording just over 16 total inches of snowfall. Monday’s snow was the first the region has seen all month; precipitation has otherwise been limited to a few rainy days.

The snow came as power company crews were still working to restore electricity in the wake of high winds over the weekend.

Duquesne Light was working to restore power to fewer than 2,500 customers late Tuesday afternoon, mostly concentrated in the Monongahela River Valley. In West Penn Power’s service area, about 250 customers remained without power in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties combined.

“The weather overnight was more severe than forecasted, which slowed response times due to the hazardous road conditions,” said Duquesne Light spokesperson Alyssa Battaglia. “During periods of high wind, established safety protocols may temporarily limit certain work until the weather conditions improve.”

In Leechburg, street department foreman Paul Rich’s crews started clearing roads around 8 p.m. Monday.

“We got out of here around midnight,” Rich said. “We came back at 4 a.m. and got everything pretty much cleaned up, but some places were starting to ice over, and then it kind of let loose again a little (Tuesday) morning.”

Rich said previous warm weather helped keep roads relatively warm well into Monday night.

“On Tuesday, once it quit snowing and the sun came out for about an hour, that really helped us out,” he said.

Oakmont Borough Manager Scot Fodi said road crews ended up heading out to treat streets a little before 7:30 p.m. Monday.

While the crews are usually better prepared to tackle snowstorms, the lack of warning from weather reports slowed operations. Fodi said the borough’s salt trucks drove to the opposite end of the borough to be filled with salt before being sent out to begin work. Some equipment was already on the trucks, but plows needed to be attached as well.

Fodi said some members of the street department worked until 3 a.m., slept at the office and headed back out to resalt roads early Tuesday morning. Fodi said the borough had just stocked its salt stores and the snow did not have much effect on the supply.

“Our typical process, if we know storm events are coming, we pre-plan days in advance,” Fodi said. During a normal storm operation, Fodi said the borough only needs about an hour of notice to adapt a plan to fit conditions.

“It’s quick for us to adapt,” Fodi said. “By the time the storm started and increased, everyone was at home.”

Fodi said the roads were ready for Tuesday morning’s work commute.

In Unity, Supervisor Mike O’Barto said public works crews waited for most of the snow to stop and headed out around 3 a.m. Tuesday to begin clearing streets.

“We were prepared, even though it seemed to come on all of a sudden,” he said. “The reports said we were going to get an inch and we ended up with several inches. But we’re always prepared to get some kind of snow in March.

“We’re hoping this is the last one,” O’Barto said.