More snow, cold on the way
Wednesday brought warmer temperatures and daylong rain, but forecasters think snow and cold will quickly sweep in again.
Butler residents who live on the brick stretch of South Main Street weren't feeling too thankful for the weather when they awoke Wednesday morning. Rain that fell on the existing snow turned the path to a “sheet of ice,” according to City Police Chief Bob O'Neill.
Six vehicles were involved in the resulting crashes, O'Neill said, with four needing to be towed from the scene. No one was injured.
One driver plowed through residents' yards to avoid hitting parked cars, O'Neill said, and their vehicle overturned.
That driver crashed through a mailbox and light pole belonging to Mary Hoffman, leaving tire tracks through her small yard. Hoffman said she awoke to police knocking on her door around 8 a.m.
Hoffman remarked at how close the driver had come to hitting the corner of her home, as well as her next door neighbor's residence.
“It's a wonder he wasn't killed,” she said.
Road hazards Wednesday morning were enough to cause both the Moniteau and Allegheny-Clarion Valley school districts to cancel classes for the day.
Wednesday's conditions were due to a southerly air flow coming up to Western Pennsylvania as the previous high pressure system moved away, according to Lee Hendricks, a National Weather Service of Pittsburgh meteorologist.
Hendricks said his office was predicting rain through the night in Butler, and snow Thursday. The snow would continue through around 5 p.m. Thursday.
Butler County should have accumulated one to two inches by that time, he said.
After that, “it's going to be fairly miserable on Friday,” Hendricks said.
He predicts Friday will bring a high of just 16 degrees and strong winds. Friday night will see temperatures drop to just 5 degrees, he said.
The weekend looks marginally warmer, with temperatures staying below freezing.
Snow showers will continue after Thursday's event, Hendricks said, but will be scattered and light.
Residents shouldn't expect additional snow accumulation anytime soon after Thursday, Hendricks said.
