Butler County under winter weather advisory starting Wednesday night
Butler County will be under a winter weather advisory from 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5, to 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6. The advisory from the National Weather Service calls for freezing rain, possible snow accumulation of up to 1 inch and slippery road conditions during the Wednesday night and Thursday morning commutes.
The advisory also applies to Mercer, Venango, Forest, Clarion, Jefferson, Armstrong and Indiana counties.
The forecast for Wednesday calls for a high of 30 degrees in Butler, followed by a low of 28 degrees during the night. Wednesday will also bring a chance of snow, although not much — if any — is expected to accumulate.
“We might see a little bit of snow or flurries during the day, but nothing of note,” said Jason Frazier, meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. “If there's any snow that does fall, we’re expecting it to be fairly light. There’s high probability of it being less than 1 inch.”
During the night, the snow is expected to give way to freezing rain, which can create slippery roads. According to Frazier, ice accumulation is estimated to fall between 0.05 and 0.15 inches in Butler County.
“Those amounts of ice on roadways are enough to make for slick travel and make some roads difficult to travel, especially on steep-inclined ones where tires struggle to make grip,” Frazier said. “It may not be a bad idea to use caution in traveling overnight Wednesday through the Thursday morning commute.”
Rain is expected to persist through Thursday night, but temperatures are expected to rise to a high of 48 degrees.
In anticipation of slick roads, the state Department of Transportation has issued vehicle restrictions on state roads, including some that run through Butler County.
A Tier 2 vehicle restriction will go into effect at 7 p.m. Wednesday for the entirety of Interstate 76, which runs through Cranberry Township.
A Tier 4 vehicle restriction will go into effect at 7 p.m. Wednesday for Interstate 79 from the intersection with Interstate 76, in Cranberry Township, all the way to the northern end of I-79 North.
A Tier 4 vehicle restriction will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday for Interstate 80, from mile marker 4 all the way to the intersection with Interstate 81. A tiny section of I-80 crosses through the northern part of Butler County, in Allegheny Township.
On roadways with Tier 2 restrictions, certain vehicles are not allowed, such as school buses, motorcycles and motor homes, and passenger vehicles are not allowed to tow trailers. On roadways with Tier 4 restrictions, no commercial vehicles are permitted.
In a news release, PennDOT said crews are actively pretreating roadways “where necessary” in advance of the storm.
