Live Updates: Winter storm brings ice, snow and negative wind chills to Pittsburgh

While many people escaped the bone-chilling air by turning up the thermostat on Friday, some could not.

Ashley Crisi's townhome in Mt. Lebanon was without heat on Friday.

"I want the power to come back on," she said. "It's the worst possible time because it's cold outside and it's Christmas weekend."

At around 9 a.m. on Friday, her power went out. The estimated time for her heat to arrive back at her vents is still unknown.

But for most customers, including some of Crisi's neighbors, the power's back on, which only added to the bitterness of the situation.

"I didn't check the thermostat because it's just going to make me mad," she said.

Crisi and her roommates will rely on the glow of battery-powered Christmas lights to see and blankets to stay warm.

"Hopefully, Duquesne Light pulls off a miracle and puts the power back on."

Due to the extremely cold temperatures, the city has extended warming center hours on Friday and Saturday at five locations. 

Duquesne Light said Friday that it has restored power to more than 27,000 customers after a winter storm system moved into the area.

In a Friday evening update, the company said approximately 2,900 customers are without power. Duquesne Light expects all customers to have power by 9 p.m. on Saturday. 

"However, shifts in wind speed and frigid temperatures may delay restoration," the company said in a release. 

"We sincerely appreciate customers patience and understanding during this time. Power outages are always inconvenient, but the extreme temperatures, strong winds and upcoming holidays add an additional layer of difficulty," the release went on to say.

We set a record on Friday for a record-low temperature of -5 for the day, breaking the old record low of -3 set on this date in 1960. 

Temperatures will remain below 0 degrees through early morning and wind chills will stay -20 to -30 through lunch on Saturday, which is why the wind chill warning will remain in effect until then. 

Winds will still be gusting up to 40 miles per hour overnight and up to 25 to 35 mph through Saturday and Christmas morning, keeping wind chills in the single digits. 

Accumulating snow is pretty much done for now, but we'll still see occasional snow showers, flurries, and blowing snow through Christmas night. Roads will remain icy for holiday travel. 

Temperatures plunged about 40 degrees in 24 hours across our region and plummeted nearly 25 degrees in only three hours this morning.

What's even more unusual is that we could climb up to the lower 50s by the end of this week in time for New Year's!

The roads have improved since the morning, and the focus is now shifting to single-digit temperatures and dangerously cold wind chill. 

Salt trucks equipped with plows hit the roads at midnight and haven't stopped since. Crews have been out throughout the city of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and the interstates, working nonstop.

The city had over 60 trucks out overnight and anticipates 75 trucks to be on the roadways throughout Friday.

PennDOT said they have all crews out for this winter storm and will call in additional contractors as needed.

Thirty-three county trucks were deployed at 3 a.m. and are currently on their second time through their routes.

Stephen Shanley, director of Allegheny County Public Works, said this morning their concern has shifted from clearing snow off the roads to the ice.

"The major concern at this time is the blowing snow and the refreezing on our roadways," Shanley said. "We caution people -- if they're out driving, watch for refreezing. They're probably going to run into some ice along the way, so avoid any sudden stops and leave enough room between the car in front of you."

Brutal cold temperatures have knocked the power out at thousands of homes across the region, leaving many now without heat.  

Duquesne Light said more than 25,000 customers were impacted by the storm Friday morning. So far, the power to 18,000 homes has been restored while 7,000 still remain without power.  

Residents on Scheffield Street on the North Side said the digits on their thermostats are quickly dropping. Dave Fleischman said his is normally set to 73 degrees. By 1:30 p.m., he said it was 52 degrees.  

He said when he called the power company, representatives were unable to give any timeline of how soon the power could be restored.  

"Yeah, I got some great advice from the person we spoke to. She told us to go shopping," Fleischman said. "On a snowy, icy day. That's not good advice!" 

His neighbor Ray Legault said his power went out around 6 a.m. He said he's been working to find ways to preserve the heat in his home. 

"I have a third floor upstairs. It gets pretty drafty, so I closed all the doors up there and all the doors, I just have towels underneath insulating them," Legault. 

He's also finding ways to keep his pipes from freezing. 

"All the sinks and the water and stuff I have on a drip right now to make sure the water is still flowing so the pipes don't freeze," Legault said. 

Duquesne Light said they have crews working around the clock to restore the power but said hazardous road conditions, high winds and downed trees on power lines are creating challenges for crews. 

"If it doesn't come on by a certain point, we're probably going to have to get a hotel room. I can't stay in a house as we keep getting colder and colder and I pray my pipes don't freeze," Fleischman said. 

Warming centers are set up across the city for anyone without power in their homes. A list can be found here.

The cold slammed into Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties like a Siberian express train.

Spending all but a few moments in Friday's savage cold and the wind was a test of personal endurance. For people who work outside, like Dean Clemens of Greensburg Towing, it was a frigid day.

"I got multiple layers on," he said. "I think I got two pairs of long johns underneath these pants. I'm trying to stay warm."

Staying warm is what everyone who earns a paycheck working outside did Friday. Regardless of the temperatures, the mail had to go out. Firefighters and police had to deal with downed wires and crashes. 

Now, there are a lot of people without power, and West Penn Power is asking people to be patient because its crews can only spend about 15 minutes outside before they have to get back in the truck to warm up. Crews also can't use bucket trucks in all this wind. 

PennDOT has lifted the speed limit and right-lane-only restrictions for commercial vehicles in Allegheny County.

The speed limits had been reduced to 45 mph on interstates 79, 279, 376, 579 and Route 28.

The restrictions will stay in place in I-376 in Beaver County and insterstates 79, 276 and Route 422 in Lawrence County.

PennDOT is continuing to encourage drivers to stay home if they can. 

The roadways were pretty treacherous Friday morning, but some brave souls were out and about anyways. 

Just before 5 a.m., the weather took a turn. Forty degree temperatures and rain turned into single digit temperatures, snow and ice, not to mention a stiff, arctic breeze.

Despite city and county officials and PennDOT encouraging folks to stay indoors and off the roads, some people actually made it out for things like shopping, going to work and even getting a new 'do.

When KDKA-TV's Chris DeRose talked to Adam Wolf, he said he was out getting his haircut. 

Chris: "Is that imperative?"

Adam: "It's been about eight months since my last one, so yeah. And I gotta look good for the holiday." 

Everyone seemed to have a different option on the road conditions and driving in this mess.

Chris: "We saw you fishtailing, we got worried about you. Are you all right?"

Emily Raad: "I'm great. I know how to drive. It's everyone else I'm worried about."

Don Lammers said he felt safe on the roads. 

"The traffic went slower than I wanted to go, beause I'm used to all-wheel-drive and good tires and it's no big deal," he said.

"There's not a lot of people out there," Adam said. "You just have to take your time. I've lived in Pittsburgh my whole life, just take it easy and don't be a daredevil."

Two recent crashes have shut down roads in Allegheny and Butler counties.

A crash has closed I-79 northbound in Muddy Creek Township between the New Castle/Butler exit and the Slippery Rock exit.

Another crash has closed Route 19 southbound between Carson Street and Route 51/Route 837. PennDOT said all lanes are closed.

There's been no word on injuries.

With windchills in the negatives, warming centers are opening up across Allegheny County. 

Pittsburgh is opening up four healthy active living centers as warming centers on Friday because of the extreme cold.

CitiParks had already planned to open five up on Christmas Eve but decided to open four a day early, calling it an "emergency activation." 

The locations and addresses can be found here: 

Allegheny County's emergency services has also been notified of multiple warming centers. A list can be found on this Twitter thread.

PennDOT is updating its speed limits, amid the winter storm in Western Pennsylvania. Earlier Friday morning, many interstates were reduced to 45 mph. 

Now, in a new update, PennDOT lifted the speed limit and right-lane-only commercial vehicle restrictions that were in place on I-70 in Washington and Westmoreland counties and I-79 in Greene and Washington counties. 

As of 7:40 a.m., Duquesne Light is reporting 98 active power outages, affecting 9,397 customers. 

First Energy is reporting approx. 13,184 customers are affected due to power outages in our area, as of 7:47 a.m. 

PennDOT has temporarily reduced speed limits on multiple major roadways across the region as the winter storm moves through. 

The following roadways are now reduced to 45 miles per hour: 

Allegheny County

• Parkway East
• Parkway West
• Parkway North
• I-79
• I-579
• Route 28

Beaver County

• Beaver Valley Express Way

Lawrence County

• I-79
• I-376
• Route 422

Washington County

• I-79

Westmoreland County

• I-70

Winter's wrath is here and in Ross Township, the wind is whipping and the snow is falling. 

That's where we find our Chris DeRose. 

This morning, KDKA's Chris DeRose is live in the KDKA Mobile Weather Lab bringing you updates on everything from changing weather to road conditions. 

Follow him on Twitter for the latest. 

Ahead of the incoming winter storm system, charge your devices, power banks and portable chargers. If you do lose power, those fully-charged devices will help weather the storm. 

The winter storm system is closing in on western Pennsylvania. 

The plows are prepped and parked.

Around midnight, drivers will hit the road, putting their plan of attack for this winter storm into action.

The storm is expected to bring ice and dangerously low temperatures. It will be so cold that the city said it will open five warming shelters across the area.

For those driving, rain is predicted to morph into snow at a time when Pittsburgh Public Works and PennDOT crews say prepping the roads will be problematic.

"In these conditions, we cannot pre-treat," Pittsburgh Public Works Director Chris Forsythe said. "We're anticipating that the roads could be potentially treacherous."

However, crews all around the region reassured everyone that this weather won't catch them off guard.

"We're in a good position, and we're ready to go for this," PennDOT District 11 press officer Yasmeen Manyisha.

Starting Thursday night through Saturday, it'll be all hands on deck.

"If you don't have to be out these next couple of days while we're getting this winter weather, please stay in," Manyisha said.

But according to AAA, because of the upcoming holiday, millions of people will be going out by car or air. Whether you are traveling by air or by car, it's a good idea to pack your patience.

By: KDKA-TV's Lauren Linder

The first major winter storm of the season is heading toward the greater Pittsburgh region, and people are stocking up.

Just as Santa Claus is about to come to town, so are rain, snow, freezing temperatures, and high winds. John McGrady of Mt. Lebanon wants to be ready.

"It's bad timing," McGrady said.

He and countless others stopped by Rollier's Hardware in Mt. Lebanon on Thursday to pick up anything they may need for the storm; from road salt to shovels and car scrapers.

"Make sure that we've taken care of things on our end," McGrady said.

Mark Slagel, also of Mt. Lebanon, had been meaning to buy some salt for the past few weeks. The incoming weather finally gave him that push to go to the store.

"No turning back (Friday). If it shuts things down, then I'm out there chipping away at the ice with my shovel," Slagel said.

Co-owner of the shop, Brett Satterfield, said they didn't have much salt in stock until Thursday. A steady stream of customers poured in on Thursday. They went through eight to nine pallets in just one day.

"Everyone's been coming in, obviously, with the holiday. You want to get ready and just hunker down for the weekend," Satterfield said.

Folks are doing all they can to ensure a safe holiday for friends and family.

"I'm not feeling too uncomfortable, but I just want to be prepared," McGrady said.

If you still haven't picked up any salt yet, Rollier's has plenty of stock.

We've all heard and sometimes heeded the warnings about alcohol-induced hangovers, but what about alcohol-induced hypothermia?

It's an issue top of mind for doctors and first responders heading into this bitter cold weekend.

Steelers fans want a victory before Santa comes to town, and doctors want people to dress smart this weekend.

"One of the most common things we see are patients that come in without taking the appropriate precautions first, meaning not dressing in layers, spending too much time out in the cold than they should and not having access to a place they can go that they can be warm," said UPMC Mercy Chief of Emergency Services Dr. Michael Turturro.

UPMC Mercy's emergency room will be ready, but avoid ending there by following these tips.

"If you need to be outside for work or for some other reason, you have to prepare," Turturro said. " Dress in warm layers, multiple layers are preferable, keep all exposed parts of the body covered as much as you can and try to take breaks to get into warm environments."

This advice isn't just for Steelers fans. Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt says all Pittsburghers need to be careful.

"We encourage anyone who does have to go outside to please bundle up, cover up, keep any limited skin exposure to the cold and to the wind. Obviously, you can get frostbite, frostnip, windburn," Schmidt said.

So put extra layers, especially hats, on the little ones for last-minute errands, only let dogs outside for quick bathroom breaks, and give your body what it needs to work efficiently.

"You need to make sure you're well hydrated. If you're dehydrated, you're at increased risk of developing a problem from being out in the cold," Turturro said.

And hydrated doesn't mean beer or liquor. Tailgaters be warned: alcohol only fools the body into feeling warm.

"Another thing I would recommend is to avoid alcohol because it will not only cloud your judgment, but it also alters your ability to handle the cold stress," Turturro said.

Alcohol causes a rush of blood to the skin's surface giving a false sense of warmth, meaning you won't feel the true temperature outside or the hypothermia kicking in.

Know the signs of hypothermia: shivering, slurred speech, fatigue, pale skin and delayed reflexes. The elderly and babies under 1 are most at risk.

Crews across the area said they're ready to treat the roads as the winter storm arrives.

PennDOT said it's been preparing since the storm was first forecasted.

Starting at 12 a.m., PennDOT will employ all crews and will send out additional contractors as needed.

Routes take between two to three hours to maintain and officials said crews will continue to run those routes until the roads are clear.

Crews will not pre-treat the roadways for this storm due to the rain coming in ahead of the forecasted snowfall.

In the city, Pittsburgh Public Works Director Chris Forsythe said crews will be out overnight ready to go.

"We are well over 60 trucks overnight. We anticipate over 75 tomorrow in the daylight and then potentially another 60 overnight on Friday," Forsythe said.

While crews will be ready, officials are urging everyone who doesn't have to be out to stay home.

If you'd like to keep track of where PennDOT's plow trucks are when they hit the roads overnight, just check out 511pa.com.

All of PennDOT's roughly 2,200 plow trucks are equipped with automated vehicle location systems, which use in-truck technology to log and share data in real-time to that website.

You can not only see where the trucks are, but also how much material they're spreading on the roads.

The city of Pittsburgh has a similar online plow tracking system, but according to the city's website, it's currently not working.  

With the upcoming holiday weekend, a lot of people will be driving in dangerous conditions. 

So what do you need to look out for if you're on the road? KDKA-TV's Ross Guidotti has some safe driving tips ahead of the incoming winter storm.

If you've ever been in a vehicle or driving, hitting ice can be an interesting experience.

"It gets a little scary sometimes," Dave Scott said Thursday.

According to AAA, there are things you can do to drive safely on ice-covered roads. 

"If you are on ice and you feel yourself slipping, try not to break too hard. Or even just driving the speed limit and making sure you have your hazards on and make sure you put your lights on," said Jaclyn Fiedor of Greensburg said. 

And according to AAA, Fiedor is right. Driving experts said slamming on the brakes is a bad idea and driving relative to conditions is important.

AAA recommends that drivers check their vehicle's tires. Also, make sure your vehicle is mechanically sound, and charge your cell phone in the event ice overcomes your driving skills. Throw food and a blanket in your car in the event your roadside adventure results in you being stranded somewhere.

Finally, remember to have a full tank of gas. If you're stranded after sliding off the road and it's as cold as it's going to get, that gas will keep your car running and assure all the heat you need until you are rescued.

Though there were a few cancelations on the board early Thursday morning for flights to cities like Denver, Minneapolis and Toronto, most people heading out of Pittsburgh in the morning saw short TSA lines and flights leaving on time.

This ease of travel is expected to change, however, as the weather continues to shift and a massive cold front moves into the region.

Weather watches and warnings are already in effect for the next several days and the governor's office released a statement urging Pennsylvanians to pay attention to weather forecasts and stay alert for rapidly changing conditions this holiday weekend.

Read more here.

Pittsburgh officials are opening warming centers across the city on Dec. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   

A list of places that will be open for people to warm up can be found here.

Two of Allegheny County's biggest districts have canceled school for Friday.

Pittsburgh Public Schools and North Allegheny School District both announced there will be no classes because of the weather.

An updating list of school closings and delays in the Pittsburgh area can be found here.