Community Corner

Update: Time to Dig Out After Record Snowfall Closes Schools, Causes Travel Delays

About 8 inches of snow fell across the area last night.

It's all sunshine and blue skies now, but the effect from the record snowfall that pummeled the area Tuesday through early Monday morning will be felt throughout the day.

After announcing a two-hour delay Monday evening, the Seneca Valley School District canceled classes early Tuesday. All day-time programs through the Cranberry Township parks and recreation department also have been canceled.

Although service was canceled after 10 p.m. last night because of poor road conditions, most of the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s buses had resumed service by 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

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Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie warned many of those routes are still experiencing difficulty traveling on side roads and streets that have not yet been treated. While some Park-and-Ride lots had been cleared, he said, others were delayed because of the heavy snowfall.

The snow, which began falling around 3 p.m Monday and quickly blanketed the area, also caused a traffic nightmare on local roads and highways. Township manager Jerry Andree said the snow hit the area earlier than anticipated.

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"It certainly was a horrible night for traffic," he said. "The storm could not have come at a worse time. The snow wasn’t supposed to convert until around 7 or 8 o'clock."

Because the snow fell during rush hour, Andree said many of the township plow trucks were stuck in heavy traffic as commuters slowly navigated the snowy roads.

"It created gridlock," he said. "It was a frustrating night for many people. We were glad when the roads finally were clear."

Andree said crews were out all night and through the morning salting and clearing streets. As of 8:30 a.m,. traffic was moving slowly but steadily through Cranberry's main roads.

Andree said crews will be out the rest of the day doing clean-up around the area. 

And there is some good news; No more snow is expected today.

“We should be done at this point," said Tom Green, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "There might be a little more snow in Ohio and West Virginia counties.”

Green said 7.9 inches of snow fell at the airport in Moon last night, which was a record for Feb. 21. The previous mark was 3 inches in 1929.

“We did end up having a record snowfall at the airport,” Green said. “We tacked on another half-inch after midnight.”

By Tuesday morning, Green said, 8.4 inches of snow had fallen near the airport.

According to the weather service’s Collected Storm/Record Reports, 8 inches of snow fell across Butler County. 

It’s a far cry from last week, when the area enjoyed sunshine and 70 degree temperatures. And if you credited the magical weather prowess of Punxsutawney Phil, who predicted an early end to winter, you weren’t the only one. 

“Everybody thought we were done,” said Green. “But we still have a little left.”


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