Northern Blair County residents who have already put away their snow shovels and blowers will be in their garages and storage sheds today in hopes that today’s snowfall will be the last this year.
In Tyrone, the snow began falling at about 7 a.m. An hour later, the snow was coming down in heavy doses. By presstime today, three inches of the powdery white stuff had already fallen, and, according to AccuWeather meteorologists, more is on the way.
After several weeks without significant snow events, winter is expected to return. AccuWeather.com meteorologists have been tracking a storm that moved through the Ohio Valley tomorrow, spreading snow into southern New England and the mid-Atlantic.
“Winter isn’t quite over yet,” said Brian Pappalardi, AccuWeather meteorologist. “The snow is already here, and it looks like it’s not going to let up anytime soon.”
Pappalardi said an area of low pressure formed in the Rocky Mountain and made its way over the plains and through the lower Ohio Valley this morning. Now, the weather event has reached Pennsylvania.
“The Tyrone area should expect between four and eight inches, but some areas in the higher elevations will see as much as 10 inches,” said Pappalardi.
The meteorologist said the brunt of the storm should hit northern Blair County in the early evening hours, with snow tapering to just flurries by 9 a.m. this evening.
“After all the snow falls, we’re going to see lots of flurries and unseasonably cold temperatures,” he said.
Pappalardi said normal highs in northern Blair County for this time of year ranges between 45 and 48 degrees. This morning’s temperatures read around 30 degrees before the snow started falling, and began dropping as the morning rolled on.
“It should be a white, not green St. Patrick\’s Day for much of the Northeast and back into Ohio,” said AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Joe Bastardi.
After this storm, Bastardi expects the wintry pattern to hold, including another snow threat late this week for the Northeast.
“It should remain quite cold for this time of the year in the Northeast and Great Lakes,” Bastardi said.
“It may turn milder this weekend, but much of next week looks pretty cold as well.”
According to Pappalardi, another system may arrive Thursday night into Friday morning. He said this storm has the same origins of the storm hitting today, but said there will be much less snowfall.
Local communities are bracing for the storm.
According to Vern Latchford, Tyrone Borough’s Highway Department Foreman, the plows are still on the trucks as are the spreaders. He said all four borough employees are ready to handle any accumulations.
