Butler County braces for week of snow, subfreezing temps
Butler County didn’t have to wait for the first snowfall of 2025, as flurries fell on much of the county New Year’s Day and forecasters are predicting more to come.
David Shallenberger, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said that the county will be hit by three different storm systems over the next week.
“A fast-moving little system is moving through for Thursday into Friday,” Shallenberger said. “Then after that little system moves through, directly behind it we’re going to have another lake effect event set up. And then the next one comes in late Sunday night into Monday.”
In addition, forecasts from the National Weather Service predict that high temperatures in Butler will not climb above freezing anytime before Wednesday, Jan. 8, at the earliest. High temperatures will fall as low as 23 degrees on Saturday, Jan. 4.
Shallenberger said that Butler should expect 3 to 4 inches of snow between Thursday and Saturday. A winter weather advisory will go into effect starting at 4 a.m. Friday for Butler County, as well as 27 other counties in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
Forecasts also call for winds of 11 to 14 mph on Friday night, with gusts as high as 26 mph, which can create snow drifts.
In advance of the storm which is expected to intensify on Friday, the state Department of Transportation is advising drivers to exercise extreme caution when driving on snowy roadways, as high winds can cause “snow squalls” — a combination of snow and wind that can lead to low visibility.
While PennDOT advises avoiding or delaying unnecessary travel during winter weather conditions, it advises motorists who must travel to drive at speeds suitable for the conditions, turn their headlights on even during the day, increase their following distance and use their wipers.
While the most recent forecasts call for snow showers to persist after the weekend, Shallenberger said that the peak of the snow will be over by then.
“I will tell you that from Tuesday on, it’s probably just your general, run-of-the-mill snow showers,” Shallenberger said. “The impacts from that one system will exit on Monday afternoon. It's very possible that our Friday/Saturday system will bring the most amount of snow.”
While accumulation data for Butler is not available, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Slippery Rock station recorded 10.5 inches of snow accumulation in 2024 — just 0.1 inches lower than the previous year. The lowest total the station recorded was in 1998, when 7.8 inches fell for the entire year.
