UPDATE: Most schools in Butler County close Wednesday
UPDATE: School districts, except for A-C Valley, have closed on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
With the exception of Freeport Area and Allegheny/Clarion Valley, all school districts in the county announced a two-hour delay early this morning, Jan. 25.
Butler County Community College had not announced any change at 6:45 a.m., but Slippery Rock University will operate on a two-hour delay.
Freeport Area School District opted to close today and operate using flexible instruction.
Butler Area and Butler Area Vocational-Technical, Seneca Valley, Knoch, Mars, Karns City, Slippery Rock Area and Moniteau all announced a two-hour delay due to the snowstorm.
Regarding snowfall in the early hours, the county was divided in half.
From Route 422 north, snow fell beginning around 4 a.m.
But weather maps showed the southern half of the county in a void within the storm, with skies expected to remain largely clear until about 8 a.m.
About 2 inches of snow is expected during the morning, making conditions messy for those with a later morning commute.
Christina Gibbs, spokeswoman at the state Department of Transportation’s District 10, advised motorists to avoid unnecessary travel during the snowfall, which was expected to end with rain showers around noon.
Gibbs said crews pretreated roads where necessary ahead of the storm to help prevent ice from bonding with the pavement during the early stages of the storm.
She cautioned that motorists could still encounter icy spots and road surface that appears wet, but may actually be frozen.
Gibbs said extra caution is needed when approaching bridges and highway ramps where ice can form suddenly.
PennDOT issued Tier 1 restrictions for many highways across the state, which prohibits many tractor trailers, school buses, RVs, vehicles towing trailers and many other vehicles.