A dual system snowstorm moved through Butler County beginning Monday just after the morning commute and lingered - sputtering at times - through this morning.

Most of Monday was no problem for motorists, but later in Monday afternoon and into early this morning was another matter.

Snow-covered roads were blamed for separate crashes within a 30-minute period this morning when skidding vehicles ran into snowplows.

In the first crash about 6:15 a.m. a van slid out of control and slammed into a state Department of Transportation plow at the intersection of Route 8 and McCandless Road in Center Township.

The van was badly damaged but the unknown driver apparently suffered only minor injuries, according to Bob Skrak, PennDOT's highway equipment manager in Butler.

The driver was reportedly taken to Butler Memorial Hospital. The driver of the plow was not injured.

A state police report was not available this morning.

Then about 6:45 a.m. on Route 228, near Adams Ridge in Adams Township, an unidentified woman lost control of her car, hitting a PennDOT plow traveling in the opposite direction.

Neither driver was injured but the plow was broken. The truck, Skrak said, was back on the road a short time later.

The snowfall, estimated at 4 to 6 inches over the past 24 hours in the county, caused a number of other crashes on county roads; however, no serious injuries were reported.

Most schools in Butler County, bracing for the worst, shut down Monday. Schools remained closed today.

The overnight snow even forced Butler County Community College to cancel classes today.

More snow, blowing at times, was predicted today, possibly an additional 2 inches through this afternoon, and an additional inch overnight, according to the National Weather Service.

A winter storm warning in effect since Monday morning remained in effect until 4 p.m. today.

Snow plows, on the road since the first flakes were spotted about 8 a.m. Monday, were expected to be out in force across the county for most of today.

"The roads are mostly slushy," Fred Spohn, Butler Township's road superintendent, said about 6:30 a.m. today.

A dozen township plows were scheduled to be used through most of the afternoon clearing roads.

He said the overnight temperatures, which hovered around 30, allowed salt to work and kept roads from icing up too badly.

"We were running 100 percent salt and the roads stayed slushy all night," Spohn said.

Four city trucks, equipped with plows, also worked overtime to keep up with the snow.

"The roads are in pretty good shape," said Ralph Graham, supervisor of Butler's street department, just after 6 a.m.

He said the main roads in the city were given priority with work still needed on side streets and alleyways.

Plow drivers were on the job for most of Monday morning through about 5 p.m. before taking a respite. Plows were back on the roads by about 4 a.m. today.

"The roads were in pretty bad shape after we got another 2 inches, but we started plowing and salting, and things got better," Graham said.

The storm kept a constant stream of accident reports coming into the Butler County Communication Center.

"The calls this morning have been steady but none have been too bad," said one dispatcher about 6 a.m. today.

A number of crashes, skid-offs and rollovers were reported for much of Monday through this morning.

Traffic began backing up about 6:25 a.m. today on Route 228 West in Middlesex Township following a three-vehicle collision on the slick road.

The crash occurred when an eastbound van driven by Allen Cochran, 44, of Weirton, W.Va., skidded into a guardrail and spun around, township police said.

A car, driven by Mary Ann Mrozinski, 52, of Saxonburg, traveling west, struck the rear of the van. A second westbound vehicle, a pickup truck driven by Paul Hoehn, 39, of Butler, struck the rear of Mrozinski's car.

Middlesex Township firefighters had to be called to cut Mrozinski free from the car. She and an unidentified passenger in Cochran's vehicle were taken with moderate injuries to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

In anticipation of the storm, Scot Fodi, Middlesex Township public works director, ordered 360 tons of salt on Friday.

Monday's storm was comprised of two low pressure systems, one from the Gulf states bringing warm air and another from the upper Great Lakes with colder air, said Wayne Rumbaugh, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

"The systems came in back to back and dumped us with all this snow," he said.

The forecast for Wednesday calls for snow showers and another inch of accumulation. No snow is predicted for Thursday but more snow showers are in store for Friday.

Another storm system could hit Butler and surrounding counties on Saturday with a mix of rain and snow, Rumbaugh said, but any accumulation would be minimal.