For the second straight day, snow caused havoc for drivers around the county.

Several of the public schools in the county canceled classes and emergency responders were busy with numerous car accidents and stuck vehicles.

The forecast for Wednesday did not include more precipitation, but temperatures were expected to dip. For the Butler area, the National Weather Service was predicting a Wednesday high of 17 degrees and wind chill values as low as minus 8 degrees. Wednesday night's forecast included a low of 9 degrees and wind chills as low as minus 4 degrees.

Numerous crashes

Falling snow and slushy road conditions may have been behind several accidents on Route 356 on Tuesday afternoon.

Two people were injured in a three-vehicle accident around 1:15 p.m., said Kip Johnston, Buffalo Township fire captain.

Both patients were taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital, one with chest pain and the other with unknown injuries.

A third vehicle had two occupants who were not inured, Johnston said.

Less than an hour later, the Buffalo department responded to a vehicle that veered off the road and into a field with no one injured.

The stretch of Route 356 in Winfield Township between Riemer Road and Winfield Road was closed to traffic for more than three hours after a car hit a utility pole, knocking it into the road, John Hartman, Winfield Township fire chief, said.

No one was injured in the crash, but Armstrong Cable and Consolidated Communications were called to put in a new pole, he said.

At 4:12 p.m. a Saturn sedan went off South Chestnut Street in Butler, taking out a stop sign at the intersection with West Diamond Street and lodging into the side of Discover Wellness Center.

The driver, an elderly man, was being treated by Butler Ambulance Service for unknown injuries, fire officials said.

Other reported accidents Tuesday afternoon and evening included a vehicle on its side on Fairmont Road in Fairview Township, an accident with no injuries at the intersection of Evans City Road and Stevenson Road in Connoquenessing Township and several calls for tow trucks around the county where vehicles had gone off the road or gotten stuck.

Road departments busy

When snow is coming down, or is in the forecast, the state Department of Transportation dispatches trucks from its building on New Castle Road in Butler Township, said assistant manager Bruce Hartman.

PennDOT has a fleet of 40 trucks, which covers state roads around the county, including Route 8, Route 422, Interstate 79 and Route 356. If necessary, all 40 trucks will go out at once and they usually have a driver shift change at midnight, Hartman said.

At 511pa.com, residents can keep track of weather and traffic alerts and see where plow trucks are plowing in real time using an interactive map.

In Butler Township, the streets department has been busier than it was last year, said Tom Knights, superintendent of public works.

The township has a healthy stockpile of salt and has 14 plow trucks. It sends out seven trucks when snow starts falling and they can bring in extra manpower and send out all 14 if necessary, Knights said.

“Thus far we've had no major breakdowns that have really affected our response time. We've had a lot of call-outs, a little higher volume than last year,” he said.

Township and city officials both urge residents not to shovel or plow snow into the road.

“If we've already treated a road and been past a driveway and then a property owner brings snow into the road, it might be a few hours before we come by again and it could freeze into a block of ice, which is a hazard,” Knights said.

According to a memo on its website, the city streets department covers 53 miles of residential streets and 38 miles of alleys. Priority is given to ambulance routes going to the hospital, roads that have hills and roads that have a lot of traffic.

The city streets department also requests that residents park as close to the curb as possible and pull side mirrors inward on the side of the vehicle exposed to traffic.

More flooding possible

Rapidly melting snow mixed with heavy rainfall caused flooding around the county last week, and round two may be coming this weekend.

As of Tuesday, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh was predicting a high of 44 degrees Saturday with a chance of showers overnight and a high near 50 degrees Sunday.

Steve Bicehouse, director of Butler County Emergency Services, said that the best advice he can offer to motorists is to play it safe.

“The old adage is 'turn around, don't drown.' Don't try to drive through standing water,” Bicehouse said.

When a road becomes unsafe for vehicles, it is up to the township or the state Department of Transportation to decide when to close the road and post a detour. If there is immediate danger from water or ice, emergency responders can close a road, though they don't typically have road signs to leave behind, he said.

Melting snow can overwhelm streams if it melts quickly, Bicehouse said.

“It depends on how quickly the warm-up occurs, especially if there are conditions like rain. The snowpack is there and the ground is already saturated, but it is all in the timing,” he said.

On Friday, flooding closed roads, stranded cars and affected homeowners in several areas including Callery, Renfrew and Forward Township.

After four days of detours, PennDOT announced Tuesday that Three Degree, Renfrew and Meridian roads in Penn Township were all back open to traffic. When snow is melting, the road crews go around to clear off any debris that may be blocking catch basins designed to drain streets, Knights said. Evans Road in Butler Township flooded Friday and crews will keep an eye on it again this weekend, he said.