Wednesday's winter storm system leads some schools to remote learning
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Mixing snow with the morning rush is not the best combination.
The timing of Wednesday's winter weather system is set for the morning commute, right when people are trying to get to work or school. PennDOT says its crews will be ready, but some drivers are still weary.
"It's going to be very tricky because I was going to leave for New Castle probably about 7:30," Rick Deaner of Freedom said Tuesday. "It's probably not going to be a good idea tomorrow morning, but we'll see in the morning."
Some school districts — including Woodland Hills, Blackhawk, East Allegheny and Penn Hills — announced they are switching to remote learning Wednesday. Penn Hills School Board President Erin Vecchio said there's no point in risking student or staff safety when there's a remote option.
"It's so much easier now to go remote," Vecchio said.
"I don't think anybody complains except the parents that have to go to work, and I'm sorry for that but I don't want to put anybody in jeopardy," she added.
Tina Gibbs, a PennDOT spokesperson for District 10, said crews will work until the storm is over. District 10 includes Butler, Armstrong, Indiana, Clarion and Jefferson counties.
"It's always a challenge when the storm rolls in with mixed precipitation, hits us at rush hour, that kind of gives us a double whammy," Gibbs said. "If it rolls in as snow, that's a little bit easier to predict and work through rather than if we get a bout of freezing rain or sleet or something that adds other complications to an already complicated situation in rush hour."
At Rollier's in Mount Lebanon on Tuesday, KDKA-TV found people loading up on salt.
"Just came to get some salt, haven't bought it yet this year so it's the first time," Cody Wolfe of Dormont said.
