The snow has been causing some frustrations for travelers this morning as roads are messy, schools and government buildings are closed and public transportation is delayed.
Several area schools began closing as early as yesterday for the weather, along with Chester and Montgomery County government buildings and courts. A list of school and government closings can be found on The Mercury’s site.
PennDOT is in the process of clearing the roads and has reduced the speed limit on major roadways to 45 mph.
“There haven’t been any specific problem areas and traffic has been relatively light but some spin outs have occurred,” said PennDOT representative Gene Blaum. “It’s really incumbent upon travelers to reduce travel speed. When snow falls with this type of intensity, roads can be covered pretty quickly.”
Blaum explained that 430 trucks will be out salting and plowing and that they will be using all available equipment as snow begins to come down more heavily.
“It’s going to be a challenging storm and one where the department will be working throughout the night,” Blaum explained. “Even after the snow stops, motorists will have to be cautious even into Friday morning. With temperatures dropping tonight, it’s certainly going to make for a challenging time.”
Temperatures tonight are expected to hit 4 degrees with a 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before 7 p.m. Daytime snow accumulation is expected to be between three and five inches.
Lower Pottsgrove has seen two accidents so far but Chief of Police Michael Foltz considers that “fairly lucky.” Both accidents – one on Rupert Road and one on Kauffman Road-involved a car sliding off the road but neither resulted in injury.
“The roads are snow-covered and slippery, but there have not been a lot of calls. I think a lot of the people heeded the warning and stayed inside today because of the conditions,” Foltz said.
Chief William Albany of Limerick Police cautioned drivers who are out on the roads during the storm to significantly increase following distance, slow down, keep headlights on and clear all snow from the car before driving.
At 9:30 a.m. there was a tractor trailer that got stuck going down a steep grade on Airport Road in Limerick, and a few other stuck vehicles in the area, but nothing major to report.
“I think everyone is behaving themselves,” Albany said.
