Midstate under winter storm warning Wednesday

(Harrisburg) — A winter storm warning is in effect for most of central Pennsylvania throughout the day Wednesday.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service in State College expect snow totals of 4 to 8 inches across the region.

Senior Forecaster Barry Lambert said snow will start falling around daybreak. That should change to sleet by the afternoon and freezing rain in the evening.

“The biggest concern, for the road crews and everything, is that the snow could be falling over an inch, maybe even up to two inches an hour for some short periods and that’s tough to clear the roads,” Lambert said.

He said there’s a question of when a warm air mass from Mexico will move into the area, causing the change from snow to sleet and freezing rain.

“If that’s delayed for about an hour or two and it’s snowing at the rate of one or two inches and hour–multiply that by two hours and you get an additional 2-4 inches of snow,” Lambert said.

Icy conditions are expected to stick around Thursday morning.