National Guard, Salvation Army Helping People Stranded On Turnpike

CBS Pittburgh ^ | 1-23 | CBSPit

[PennsylvaniaMom]

The Allegheny Tunnel is about 100 miles from Pittsburgh. Very far from the City.

[longfellowsmuse]

My daughter is a meteorology major at a large university, and she explained that forecasting snow totals is very very difficult. It requires complicated calculus calculations at each level of the atmosphere. They really do the best they can.

[tcrlaf]

Twitpic from Fr Matthew Schneider

[Hot Tabasco]

Literally thousands of people are trapped on the Penn Turnpike around the Alleghany Tunnel,

Can't say they weren't warned........

With that being said, I've ventured out in severe winter conditions when I shouldn't have and was lucky to get to my destination and back. I could just as easy have been one of them.........

[2111USMC]

Not many people out there with snowmobiles?

When things get real bad here in the Midwest snowmobilers help out.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

I know! My wx is determined by the “Allegheny Plateau” which either BLOCKS snow systems or ENHANCES them. Up until last night, we were to get 1-3 TOTAL. The system pushed further north and we got blasted here. But about 35 miles from my house, relatives who live in the “North Hills” of Pittsburgh had about an inch. The cut off line was that distinct.

[tcrlaf]

So much for that "1-3 inches..."

[truth_seeker]

Weren’t people warned to stay off the road?

[truth_seeker]

Weren’t people warned to stay off the road?

[PennsylvaniaMom]

The Pa Turnpike is a limited access road (toll road). The entry points are toll plazas, in some cases 30’plus miles apart. There are very few emergency access points...and if you look at the Mass photos, the roadbed is surrounded by hilly terrain and roadway lined by guardrail of jersey barriers. Not snow mobile friendly at all. People don’t understand how mountainous Pa is.

[FredZarguna]

Except for fire trails through the mountains, “open country” in PA is not passable as it is in the Midwest. I could probably go completely unobstructed from KC to Minneapolis, or Chicago to Fort Collins on a snowmobile. Can’t do that here. Once you’re into the mountains, the ridges go endlessly from Southwest to Northeast. Trying to go (largely) due east or west (as the turnpike does), or due north or south is not realistic for any serious distance.

[FredZarguna]

Can't say they weren't warned........

Yes, we can.

They weren't warned. NOAA/NWS completely missed the forecast for almost all of PA.

[freeandfreezing]

When things get real bad here in the Midwest snowmobilers help out.

The terrain around the area is too steep for effective snowmobile operations, and in some areas you would have to traverse long distances to get to the PA Turnpike from nearby towns.

Also, unlike a lot of other interstates the PA Turnpike still has a lot of two lane sections, so once it gets jammed up it is harder to clear it and get traffic moving again.

[Hot Tabasco]

They weren't warned.

I don't want to turn this into a pissing contest so I'll just offer up that those folks knew something was coming down the pike....I'll leave it at that.

[Despot of the Delta]

22” here in Johnstown

[Despot of the Delta]

They weren't warned. NOAA/NWS completely missed the forecast for almost all of PA.

The initial forecast here yesterday morning was 6" to 10"

[KC_Lion]

[ADSUM]

I wonder how many took the alternate Route US 30.

Up and down the mountains.

[pa_dweller]

In South Central and Southeast some of the plow trucks ended up in the ditch because they lost the road.

[Gene Eric]

30+” in areas of Lehigh Valley.