Pennsylvanians should be flabbergasted at the latest revelation in the Turnpike Commission’s explanation for botching snow removal operations during the Jan. 22 snowstorm.

They’re blaming it on the weatherman.

Turnpike Commission Chairman Sean Logan testified this week before a state Senate committee that the blizzard stranded 560 vehicles, some for more than 24 hours, because the official weather forecast was several hours old and it understated the storm’s severity.

Logan said the officials acted on a midafternoon advisory from AccuWeather Inc., the turnpike’s contracted forecasting service. He said that advisory called for what sounded like a “manageable range” of snow — six to eight inches accumulation — for the Somerset-to-Bedford stretch of the turnpike in south central Pennsylvania.

As it turned out, more than a foot of snow fell on that 11-mile stretch of the turnpike.

But most people will recall the multiple, nearly constant weather updates and advisories flooding television, radio and smart phone apps warning us about the size and strength of the approaching blizzard. The forecasts had been developing and updating for several days — yet no turnpike official with any authority bothered to compare any of these forecasts with its own official advisory. Nobody noticed a potential discrepancy until it was too late to respond.

AccuWeather CEO Barry Lee Myers, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, confirmed that the State College, Pa.-based service sent alerts at 3:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. as part of a regular schedule, but that updates are available any time on request. He said the 3:15 forecast called for six to 12 inches of snow in the area, but also contained strong language warning of high winds and “blizzard, white-out” conditions. The 9:45 alert contained a revised forecast of one to two feet.

News reports indicate the bottleneck started around 7:40 p.m. when several westbound semi trucks jackknifed. In essence, the AccuWeather forecast was 4 1/2 hours old when the pileup initiated.

In an editorial response to the incident, the Eagle blamed the motorists for allowing themselves to get trapped in a storm that had been widely predicted. But if they were relying on the turnpike’s information — which was outdated — then much of the blame falls on the turnpike officials for assuring the public that the highway would be passable.

Add in the fact it was a Friday evening and most of the stranded vehicles were buses (60) and commercial vehicles (400). It’s likely that the majority of these professional drivers trusted the turnpike officials’ judgment to get them home at the end of a busy workweek.

Still, it’s hard to accept the explanation in this day and age of radar-enhanced, real-time weather forecasts. The Senate committee shouldn’t put up with it. Neither should the rest of us.