One thing that can be said about today’s snowstorm is it shouldn’t have caught anyone by surprise.
Weather forecasters have been talking for days about the systems in place which are expected to produce the largest snowfall totals of the season.
In fact, the National Weather Service in State College posted a winter storm watch in the early morning hours on Sunday, more than 24 hours before the first flake hit the region.
A winter storm warning was posted by the NWS by mid-afternoon on Sunday covering the period from 5 a.m., Monday to 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
For the most part, motorists were spared problems during the early part of the commute this morning in northern Blair County. Snow started falling first in the southern counties in Pennsylvania. Light snow was observed in northern Blair in the 7 a.m. hour.
This morning’s commute was absent a familiar sight since motorists didn’t have to deal with school buses on the roads. Both the Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis School Districts canceled classes for today well ahead of the first snowflake.
Both state and municipal road crews were out today in an effort to keep roads clear of the expected several inches to a foot of snow that should blanket the area by Tuesday.
“There out,” said Tara Callahan, public relations spokesperson for PennDOT District Nine.
Callahan was contacted shortly after snow began to fall this morning and she said the crews had been out treating roads since 4 a.m.
A spokesperson at the Tyrone Highway Department said employees reported at the department’s regular start time of 7 a.m. During the 8 a.m. hour, trucks were still being prepared to go out to treat the roads. He said crews would be out once the snow started covering the pavement.
In its Sunday afternoon statement, The NWS said a storm system which developed over the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday afternoon was expected to track northeast toward the Mid Atlantic Coast on Monday, then up the New Jersey coast before heading into New England on Tuesday.
The NWS said heavy snow, six inches or more, was likely for much of central and eastern Pennsylvania. The snow was expected to start in southern areas of the state first then spread across the region by early to mid afternoon.
The snow is expected to be heavy at times and will last into Monday night. The heaviest snow was expected this afternoon and the first part of tonight. Light snow is expected to linger into Tuesday before tampering to flurries.
The NWS said the Altoona area could expect snowfall totals between six to 10 inches.
There was the possibility if the storm tracked a little more offshore, the central part of the state might see lesser amounts and the eastern part of the state could see higher snowfall totals.
