The latest on the snowstorm coming tonight

(Harrisburg) — After days of buildup, the snow is about to arrive.

Forecast

For southern Adams, Cumberland, Franklin, York and Lancaster counties, the storm could drop 18 to 24 inches of snow, according to meteorologists.

As you move farther north, the snowfall amounts decrease, but for the Harrisburg area, experts are still predicting 12 to 18 inches.

Areas north could get between six and 12 inches.

Whether records are set or not, Aaron Tyburski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College says this is a lot of snow.

“However, when we’re talking more than 18 inches of snow, whether it’s 18 or 24, the impacts are going to be very similar,” says Tyburski. He adds that the snow could fall at a rate of between one and two inches an hour overnight,” says Tiburski.

Wind gusts as high as 30 miles an hour could make road cleanup more difficult as well.

Utility companies

Nils Hagen-Frederiksen with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission says utility companies are working ahead of the storm.

“Getting their equipment warmed up, getting their trucks in place, getting their crews lined up, making sure they have the shifts ready for the weekend, and then very carefully watching the weather to see exactly what happens,” says Hagen-Frederiksen.

Hagen-Frederiksen says if your power goes out, you should call your utility company directly to report it.

He says 911 should only be used if the power outage is causing sparks, or a line came down across a road.

Declarations

Governor Tom Wolf has declared a state of emergency for the state. Harrisburg is under a snow emergency starting at 7 Friday.

York County has also issued a disaster declaration.

Travel

Most airlines have also cancelled flights from Harrisburg, and Amtrak says it will have a limited schedule Saturday.

Nils Hagen-Frederiksen with the state Public Utility Commission says people shouldn’t drive if they don’t need to.

“It’s not just a risk to those who are on the roads, but traffic accidents can be a source of power outages. So the fewer people that are on the roads, the less likelihood that somebody is going to slid off the road into a ditch and hit a pole,” he adds.

PennDOT says it’s been pre-treating roads with a salt brine, and will have crews ready to go as soon as the snow starts falling.

But Mike Keiser with PennDOT’s District 8 in the midstate says this will be a challenge.

“You’re going to see a situation where we have forecasts of 20 inches, somewhere in that neighborhood, across the bottom 4 counties in our district. More importantly, our biggest concern would be the wind,” says Keiser.

Keiser says the wind could make roads especially difficult to clear – gusts could reach 30 miles per hour tomorrow.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is putting speed restrictions in place at midnight tonight. Speeds will be reduced to 45 mph on these PA Turnpike sections:

• On the east-west mainline (I-76) from Breezewood Exit #161 to the Delaware River Bridge/New Jersey line; and
• On the Northeastern Extension from Mid County Exit #20 to Lehigh Valley Exit #56.

The PA Turnpike will also restrict certain classes of vehicles on the sections:

• over-dimensional (height/width/weight) commercial trucks;
• commercial trucks towing multiple trailers (i.e., doubles or twins);
• commercial trucks towing empty trailers; and
• passenger or non-commercial vehicles pulling an RV, utility or any other trailer.

In York, rabbittransit has cancelled bus service in York and Adams counties for Saturday, January 23.  This includes York Fixed Route bus service, Adams Fixed Route bus service – Freedom Transit and Shared Ride/Paratransit service in York and Adams counties.

rabbittransit officials will monitor conditions on Saturday evening to determine service for Sunday, January 24. Updates will be posted on its website at www.rabbittransit.org and its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/rabbittransit.