Wintry mix of snow and rain adds to winter blues
Dave Hostovich of Roscoe cleans the sidewalks Wednesday in front of Monongahela Manor, where he works.
Two trucks work together Wednesday to plow McKean Avenue in Donora.
A wintry mix of heavy snow and freezing rain clogged roads Wednesday, but in Fayette County, no major accidents were reported.
Susan Kozak-Griffith, the public information officer for the county蘑菇视频 Emergency Management Agency, said the morning had its share of downed wires and minor accidents due to vehicles sliding on the roadways, but no major issues were reported.
The county蘑菇视频 local districts all canceled classes as snowfall started early in the morning and persisted in many areas until about noon.
Then, for most, came the rain.
Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service out of Pittsburgh, said a slight afternoon warm up meant sloppy, slushy roads with a risk of ice underneath.
In the mid-Mon Valley, the onslaught of snow put a stop to an annual event designed to put a hex on the winter blues.
Organizers of the annual Hoodie Hoo Day in Charleroi canceled the party and can鈥檛 reschedule the event for a year because the 鈥渉oliday鈥� is to be celebrated at noon Feb. 20.
鈥淯nfortunately and ironically, the Hoodie Hoo Day festivities planned for today are canceled due to the weather conditions,鈥� the organizer, Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce, announced early Wednesday.
The event urges attendees to dress in colorful outfits, count down to noon and repeatedly shout 鈥淗oodie Hoo鈥� to send winter packing.
The state Department of Transportation temporarily reduced the speed limit on Interstates 79 and 70 to 45 mph Wednesday morning due to the road conditions, but the reduction was lifted by the afternoon.
Valerie Petersen, spokeswoman for PennDOT, said road crews started pretreating the roads before the storm hit, and continued to plow and treat the roads throughout the day.
According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, Washington County got between 2 to more than 4 inches of snow Wednesday morning. According to the NWS, Fayette County saw on average 3 to 3.5 inches of snow Wednesday and Greene County had about 2 inches by 8 a.m.
蘑菇视频 reporter Mark Hofmann contributed to this report.