Motorists who managed a treacherous drive to work Tuesday may have thought they got a reprieve this morning with temperatures poking into the 40s.

Think again.

Because the road surface temperatures never made it above freezing, the rain that fell just before dawn put a thin coating of ice on many roads in Butler County.

Police spent the first few hours after daybreak calling for road crews to salt roads and tow trucks to clear roads and berms of cars that slid into other vehicles and off roads.

In some cases, police closed roads, including Deer Creek Road at Love Road in Clinton Township.

Other roads that got police attention were Overbrook Road, Davidson Road, Kepple Road, Monroe Road and East Slippery Rock Street.

The county emergency dispatch center reported 31 accidents between 5:21 and 8:07 a.m., including 12 in the first 30 minutes.

The Butler, Freeport, Karns City, Moniteau, Seneca Valley, Slippery Rock and South Butler school districts all had 2-hour delays.

Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said that several counties, including Butler, were under a freezing rain advisory until 9 a.m. today. Little rain fell early this morning, but it was enough to leave a frozen glaze across many roads.

Although the air temperature in the Butler area was 39 degrees, the ground was much colder.

“The ground temperatures are below freezing for the most part,” Hendricks said.

He said that a lot of that has to do with the terrain. Valleys trap cold air, which can lead to a freezing surface. Additionally, the presence of snow on the ground also keeps surfaces cold.

Hendricks said that freezing rain is unlikely for the rest of the week. Rain is expected on Thursday, but temperatures will be in the upper 40s.

A rain and snow mix is expected Friday morning with little to no accumulation with temperatures in the 40s. Saturday’s high temperature could reach the 50s.

Eagle staff writers John Bojarski and Tom Victoria contributed to this report.