Winter Storm Warning Issued, System Could Bring Significant Amount Of Snow And Ice To Region
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Winter Storm Warning has now been issued for parts of Western Pennsylvania due to a strong storm system bringing snow and icy conditions to the region Friday night into Saturday morning.
Officially, the storm warning goes into effect at 4 p.m. on Friday and continues through 10 a.m. on Saturday.
During the hours of what will be a warning, residents should expect to see rain, significant sleet and freezing rain, along with several inches of snow. Power outages and challenging driving conditions should also be expected during this time.
A Flood Watch has also been issued for much of the area from 7 p.m. tonight through Saturday afternoon.
For today, temperatures will warm to around 60 degrees with a low rain chance through 7 p.m.
After 7 p.m., we will see a better chance for scattered to widespread rain. The rain chance will stick around and last through the overnight hours and into Friday afternoon.
The warning will officially begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, but it doesn't look like driving conditions, due to any potential ice, will deteriorate until after 7 p.m. at the earliest, and after 8 p.m. in Pittsburgh.
As we head into the evening and overnight hours, expect to see sleet showers and freezing rain.
Ice accumulation could be a tenth of an inch of more. That's a significant amount of ice, and power outages should be expected due to ice build-up on power lines.
Ice accumulation is actually more worrisome than any snow that we will see.
Following the icy conditions overnight, snow will move in. At this time, it appears many areas could see upwards of more than 5 inches of snow, including parts of Allegheny County.
Along I-80 and elevated areas could also see more than 8 inches of snow in widespread areas.
The warning officially comes to an end at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Cold weather settles in behind the snow with frigid Sunday temperatures in the mid-teens expected. Bundle up and prepared for brutally cold weather if heading to the Steelers' playoff game Sunday afternoon.
