With More Snow On the Way, Wolf and State Agencies Urge Pennsylvanians To Stay Aware and Use Common Sense When Traveling

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With another round of snow headed for Pennsylvania Wednesday into Thursday, Governor Tom Wolf, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency remind residents to stay aware of weather forecasts and take a commonsense approach to any travel.

"Severe winter weather could impact your travel and personal safety," Governor Wolf said. "Be overly cautious when traveling, pay special attention to your elderly neighbors, and bring your pets in from the cold."

Forecasts call for a range of snow accumulation. Anywhere from 6 to 10 inches is expected in Greene, Fayette, Somerset, Chester, Philadelphia, and southern Delaware counties. Areas north of Interstate 80 are expected to receive around an inch of snow.

"Whenever possible, it is best to delay travel while a storm is in progress," said Acting PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards. "Keeping traffic to a minimum during the storm allows PennDOT crews to do their jobs more efficiently."

"Anyone who needs to travel during the storm should be sure to have some basic supplies like food, water, and warm clothing in their cars," said PEMA Director Richard D. Flinn, Jr. "Be sure to let someone else know your destination and how long you believe the trip will take you."

PennDOT snow managers have been at work since Tuesday morning, overseeing deployment of the agency's 2,250 trucks, plows and salt spreaders and its workforce of 5,400 equipment operators. As needed, PennDOT also can call on hundreds of equipment rentals and relies on municipalities to assist under long-term agreements.

PennDOT has adequate salt supplies to deal with the storm. While precipitation is falling, roads will not be free of ice and snow. The average plow truck route is 40 miles, and it takes hours for that truck to circle back to the same point on its route. Interstates and expressways are PennDOT's priority, and trucks may be redirected from lower-traffic roads to help keep higher-traffic routes passable. That means secondary roads will have longer times in between plow passes.

If motorists cannot postpone travel during winter storms, they can "Know Before You Go" by checking winter road conditions, traffic alerts and more, as well as download apps or sign up for personal alerts, at www.511PA.com.

The commonwealth's ReadyPA campaign encourages citizens to take three basic steps before an emergency occurs: Be Informed, Be Prepared, Be Involved. More detailed information, such as home and car emergency kit checklists, is available online at www.ReadyPA.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rich Kirkpatrick, PennDOT, 717-439-1787 (cell)
Cory Angell, PEMA, 717-651-2169

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

Related Links

http://www.governor.state.pa.us