Pittsburgh area expecting up to 3 inches of snow

Plow crews are at the ready, milk and bread have been purchased in mass quantities, and now the region is waiting to see what the expected winter storm will bring.

Pittsburgh and much of Westmoreland County are expected to receive 1 to 3 inches of snow, while northern counties such as Butler and Indiana could get significantly more, according to a forecast from the National Weather Service.

The snow was expected to start Saturday in the northern counties. Southern counties were expected to see rain and wintry mix gradually changing to snow about midnight.

The state lifted a state of emergency that banned commerical trucks from most state highways from noon Saturday to noon Sunday.

Several cold weather shelters are open for people who are homeless or unable to adequately heat their homes, including the Homewood and Southwside Market House HAL Centers in Pittsburgh, Welcome Home Shelter in Greensburg and Union Mission in Latrobe. NWS meteorologist John Darnley said his fellow forecasters have been buckling down as the storm approaches.

“It’s definitely a little more busy, everyone’s a little more focused,” he said. “There’s no idle chit-chat, everyone’s just focused on what’s going on.”

They’re working to precisely determine which areas will get snow, and how much they will get.

“County by county, neighborhood by neighborhood, we’re trying to tell people whether they’re going to get snow, sleet or rain,” Darnley said.

For the latest weather updates, follow the National Weather Service’s Twitter feed at @NWSPittsburgh.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jacob at 724-836-6646, jtierney@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Soolseem.