Pennsylvania
Erie County snow storm impacts: What’s closed still, how much snow has fallen
A Bobcat skid-steer loader removes snow from driveway in 100 block of Lincoln Avenue in Erie, Pa., on Dec. 1, 2024.
A Bobcat skid-steer loader removes snow from a driveway in the 100 block of Lincoln Avenue in Erie, Pa., on Dec. 1, 2024. The house is about a block south of a bluff that overlooks Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie, and the lake-effect storm dumped about 3 feet of snow on the neighborhood.
The snow emergency that has closed schools, businesses and government buildings throughout Erie County as flakes continue to fall on feet already on the ground hasn’t slowed the workload for area first responders.
Crews were out braving the elements Monday morning responding to a number of calls. They included a reported fire at the Millcreek Mall Pavilion, which was reported at 6:03 a.m., according to Erie County 911; a water break at Old Zuck Road and West Grandview Boulevard, according to Erie Water Works; and ongoing reports of vehicles stuck and/or abandoned on streets in Erie, according to the Erie Bureau of Police.
The Erie Bureau of Fire wasn’t called out to any fires or emergency medical calls as of 7:45 a.m. Monday, but continue to deal with terrible roads, abandoned cars and fire trucks getting stuck, Deputy Chief John Herrmann said.
Additional resources including the Pennsylvania National Guard have been called in to assist in dealing with the heavy and ongoing snowfall that has buried Erie County since Friday.
The biggest issue for emergency responders over the weekend was making roads accessible, Brian Mesaros, Erie County’s emergency management coordinator, said Monday morning. Plow crews are continuing to clear those roads, with most opened Monday morning, he said.
Emergency management officials are starting to experience issues related to snow loads on buildings, Mesaros said, particularly on trailers and small structures. There were two reported roof collapses at a trailer park in North East Township on Sunday night, and a couple of roof collapses were reported in the county on Monday morning, he said.
Mesaros cautioned people not to put themselves in danger by trying to clear their roofs on their own. There are contractors out there that do the work, although they might be busy, he said.
How much snow has fallen?
As of Sunday night, snow spotters with the National Weather Service in Cleveland measured 57.5 inches of snow in Girard, 50.2 inches of snow in North East, between 45.2 and 48 inches in Harborcreek Township and 42.5 inches near Erie from the storm, according to the latest data posted on the NWS Cleveland website.
And more snow is on the way, as a lake effect snow warning remains in place for Erie, Crawford and counties to the east and west through Tuesday night. Forecasters are predicting additional accumulations of eight to 15 inches for much of Erie County, with up to 20 inches possible in the far northeastern corner of the county, according to information on the NWS Cleveland website.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Saturday signed a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency for Erie County to make additional resources including the National Guard available to support response efforts.
Shapiro reported in a news release announcing the declaration that, between 6 a.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday, the Pennsylvania State Police responded to nearly 200 incidents.
Vehicle restrictions
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced Monday morning that Tier 2 vehicle restrictions remain in place along Interstate 90 from the Ohio to the New York state lines, on Interstate 86 from I-90 to the New York state line, and along I-79 from the Meadville exit to the highway’s end in Erie County.
Under the restrictions, vehicles including tractors without trailers, tractors towing unloaded or lightly loaded trailers, passenger vehicles towing trailers, recreational vehicles and school buses are not permitted on those roadways.
Speed limits are reduced to 45 mph on I-90 from I-79 east to the New York state line and on I-86 from I-90 to the New York state line.
Return to GoErie.com for updates.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania
What the war with Iran could mean for gas prices in western Pennsylvania
The war with Iran could start impacting your wallet as soon as today.
Jim Garrity from AAA East Central says oil prices are up.
“They’re hovering around $72. They were pretty consistently around $65, $66 for a while,” he said.
Nationally, AAA said the average for a gallon of regular sits at about $3, up approximately six cents from last week.
In Pennsylvania, it’s around $3.12 a gallon, and in the Pittsburgh region, it’s around $3.24 a gallon. That’s actually down about four cents from last week.
Garrity added that gas prices this time of year would already be increasing, usually because of higher demand for the warmer months and the production of the summer blend of gas used for those months.
The impacts of what’s happening in Iran may not be immediate, which could be part of why our region and the state overall have not seen a spike yet, he said.
“It could be a couple of days later. It could be up to a week later,” Garrity said.
A lot of people are watching what happens with the Strait of Hormuz. Iran borders it to the north, and 20% of the world’s oil goes through it.
Iran is one of the world’s biggest oil producers, and China gets a lot of that oil.
“If there is an impact there, you could see oil start to come in from other parts of the world, which has a downstream effect on [the United States],” Garrity said.
One way you can save on gas if prices increase in our area is by slowing down.
“When you drive faster every five miles, over 50 miles an hour, your fuel efficiency is going down,” Garrity said. “You’re making the car work harder, making the gasoline consumption less effective.”
Garrity added that in 2022, when our area and many others saw some of the highest gas prices ever recorded, people changed their driving habits.
“We saw people make seemingly permanent changes to their driving behaviors, driving less in general, consolidating trips,” he said.
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