With weather forecasts calling for potential wintry mixes or accumulating snow on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is urging drivers to be prepared and change travel plans if necessary.
The National Weather Service has extended the winter storm watch for Wednesday, Nov. 26, and it now includes all of southeastern Pennsylvania and the northern half of New Jersey, warning that land and air transportation is likely to be adversely impacted on the busiest travel day of the year. At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25, the watch was upgraded to a warning.
According to the forecast, precipitation is expected to hit the Philadelphia region from the south on Wednesday morning. It will likely start as mainly rain during the daylight hours on Wednesday from the Interstate 95 corridor southeastward and mainly snow at locations well to the northwest. The rain-snow line is anticipated to move southeastward on Wednesday night with the rain changing to snow along the Interstate 95 corridor, ending early Thanksgiving morning.
Snowfall amounts of four to eight inches are possible to the northwest of the Interstate 95 corridor from Wednesday into Wednesday night, with eight to 10 inches possible in the higher elevations of the southern Poconos and northern New Jersey. Northerly winds are forecast to increase to 10 to 20 mph on Wednesday with gusts of 25 or 30 mph possible, the National Weather Service said.
“We all want to visit our friends and families this Thanksgiving, but I urge all motorists to be prepared for potential winter road conditions and consider altering travel if necessary,” PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch said. “Our first priority should be to arrive safely, even if it takes more time to reach our destinations.”
PennDOT said it expects to extend crew shifts to have 24-hour coverage and will work through the Thanksgiving holiday to clear any accumulating snow.
Crews will monitor road and outside temperatures using technology in each plow truck. This technology helps operators ensure that if conditions warrant road treatment, they are using the optimal type and amount of material.
“Motorists should be aware that if this storm begins with rain or freezing rain, we generally won’t pretreat roads because the rain will wash salt brine away,” Schoch said. “This is one of the reasons why it’s so critical that we have real-time conditions and that drivers closely watch forecasts to decide whether they should travel.”
No matter the holiday destination, drivers should ensure their vehicle has an emergency kit including non-perishable food, water, first-aid supplies, warm clothes, a blanket, cell phone charger and a small snow shovel. Motorists should also tailor their kits to any specific needs that they or their families may have, including baby and pet supplies, extra medication or even children's games.
Statewide, PennDOT currently has 714,000 tons of salt on hand to tackle winter weather and will continue to take salt deliveries throughout the season. Last winter, PennDOT used more than 1.2 million tons of salt on state-owned roads.
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