PRESS RELEASE – Harrisburg – Governor Tom Wolf today (Sunday, February 1, 2015) urged drivers in Pennsylvania to use caution with winter weather expected to impact several areas of the state through tonight and Monday morning’s rush hour commute.
“Winter weather beginning tonight and continuing through tomorrow morning’s rush hour commute is expected to affect the condition of roads in multiple areas across Pennsylvania,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “I am working closely with PEMA and PennDOT to monitor the situation and we are prepared to send resources wherever necessary. I am urging drivers to stay off the roads if possible and to use extreme caution when traveling especially when heading to work tomorrow.”
Governor Tom Wolf also advised Pennsylvanians to keep on top of weather forecasts and conditions in their area tonight as they travel for Super Bowl-related events.
PennDOT has 2,250 trucks, 235 rental trucks and 200 additional trucks on stand-by and 5,400 equipment operators to keep roads passable during storms. In addition, PennDOT has 539,421 tons of salt on hand. So far this winter, PennDOT has used 503,860 tons of salt, compared to its five-year average usage to date of 487,530 tons.
PennDOT started preparations for the Sunday-Monday storm on Friday, with consultation with weather forecasters and staff in each of its 11 engineering districts.
Forecasts show Pennsylvania will see the full range of winter’s might, from possibly 12 inches in the Erie area, to 6 to 12 inches across the northern tier, 3 to 6 inches through the central regions and 1 to 3 inches in the southeast and southwest.
”Our emergency management and PennDOT teams are mobilized and monitoring conditions, and PennDOT crews were dispatched this afternoon to begin their patrols and start plowing operations during the day and overnight,” Governor Wolf said.
During storms, interstates and expressways are PennDOT’s primary focus and equipment maybe redirected to these routes during significant winter events.
The heavier the precipitation, the longer it takes trucks to complete their snow routes. In some cases, motorists may find deeper accumulations on less traveled routes and should adjust their driving for those conditions. When snow is falling, even the busiest routes will have some snow cover.
Drivers can see road conditions and other real time travel information by dialing 511 or visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for IPhone and Android devices.

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