Municipalities in the region were preparing Saturday for what is forecast to be the largest snowfall in more than a decade.
A total of 9 to 12 inches is expected in the Pittsburgh area from the massive storm stomping its way from Albuquerque, N.M., to Maine’s Atlantic shores this weekend.
Winter weather warnings Saturday morning already covered the better part of 2,200 miles — a giant swath of the nation “that’s the better part of 25 states,” said Andrew Kienzle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon.
The day started at minus 2 degrees near Pittsburgh International Airport.
Forecasters don’t expect the region to crawl above the freezing mark for at least seven days — maybe longer.
These graphics represent the approximate start and end time of steady snow across the region. A Winter Storm warning remains in effect across the entire region from 7pm tonight through noon on Monday. More details can be found on our winter page: https://t.co/HGskh95zJv pic.twitter.com/J9DAxQUCkI
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) January 24, 2026
As of Saturday evening, National Weather Service meteorologist David Shallenberger said snow was expected to begin falling in Allegheny County between 1 and 3 a.m. Sunday.
The heaviest snow is expected between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday. At its peak, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the storm could drop 1 to 1½ inches per hour.
Previous forecasts predicted light snow to begin around 7 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s gonna be virtually impossible to keep all the roads clear,” Kienzle told TribLive. “We can’t explicitly tell people what to do. But, if you can postpone travel, please do. It’s going to be rough out there.”
The snow is expected to begin as a dry and fluffy variety but become wetter and heavier between 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Shallenberger said. Because of that, power outages are possible.
The snow is not expected to end until sometime between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday.
Residents prepare with food, supplies
Whether it was supplies to melt snow and stay warm or food to fill their bellies, residents across the region were preparing to hunker down Sunday.
Supplies of snow melt were shrinking rapidly by the checkouts at Busy Beaver in New Kensington.
“We’ve just gone through tons of stuff,” sales manager James Clark said.
In addition to salt, shoppers were looking for shovels, batteries, flashlights and hand warmers, Clark said. Some were looking for parts to get their snowblowers up and running.
Some, like Ray Keller of East Deer, waited until Saturday to forage for food.
“I like the thrill of the hunt,” he said before going into the Giant Eagle in New Kensington.
Others, like Sue Rhodes of New Kensington, had been getting ready for days.
“I haven’t been waiting,” she said. “I’ve been off all week and I’ve been coming every day.”
On Saturday, she picked up the last few essentials of bread, milk and eggs. Giant Eagle had plenty of each. She was preparing for being in for four days.
“I don’t know how long we’re going to be in,” she said.
At the nearby Golden Dawn grocery store in New Kensington, owner Gene Tommasi said there had been a steady flow of customers but Thursday and Friday had been busier.
“Thursday came on harder than I thought it would,” he said, adding that a big delivery came Friday. “We were blessed.”
He compared the mood to a holiday.
“Customers were very patient,” he said. “They were happy, full of energy. It was actually fun, like holiday business, even better.”
Tommasi was among business owners planning to be closed Sunday.
“We don’t want to have our employees come out here,” he said.
Not everyone out Saturday was preparing for the storm. Brittany Barber of New Kensington went to Golden Dawn in search of a chuck roast, which she found.
“I don’t go crazy when it snows,” she said. “We have enough at the house.”
John McDonald has weathered his share of storms over the seven years he’s worked at Bortz Hardware in Greensburg.
But, despite all the news coverage and foreboding forecasts about this weekend’s snowstorm, McDonald didn’t expect the surge of customers seeking snow shovels and rock salt — starting at 8 a.m. Thursday, no less, more than 72 hours before the first snowflakes were even set to fall.
“It was absolute pandemonium — that’s the only way I know how to describe it,” said McDonald, 32, who took over last year as manager of the family-owned Downtown Greensburg shop.
On Saturday afternoon, as area residents scrambled to buy what they needed to hunker down for the storm, McDonald walked past empty shelves once filled with shovels and helped last-minute shoppers lug the remaining 50 pound bags of calcium chloride.
Each wooden pallet came loaded with 48 bags of the ice-melting mix. In two days, Bortz Hardware burned through five pallets of the stuff.
Rock salt wasn’t the only chemical in demand as Westmoreland County prepared for up to 14 inches of snow.
Mike Grabowski opened the front door of Delmont Beer at 9 a.m. Saturday. Within minutes, he already had rung up five customers.
“ ‘I’ve got to get ready for the weekend,’ they say,” quipped Grabowski, 52.
Vinny Peperato stopped by Delmont Beer around lunchtime. The Jeannette man plans to go ice fishing with friends at Twin Lakes Park when the snow lets up. He admitted, though, he wasn’t keeping a close eye on weather forecasts.
“I know there’s ice,” Peperato, 29, said with a laugh. “That’s all that matters.”
Nearby, customers hustled in and out of a Fine Wine & Good Spirits store; it, too, like state-operated stores across Pennsylvania, displayed a window sign announcing its Sunday closure.
A blackboard stood near the liquor store’s entrance, its title — “Winter Storm Threat Level” — standing out amid baskets of discount vodka and whiskey. “Four to six inches, snowfall, school delayed,” one line read, next to a drawing of two glasses of wine. The line for “six to 12 inches” was accompanied with drawings of three glasses. Next to “two feet of snow or more,” the staff had drawn a bottle of vodka.
Others lauded practicality as the snow neared.
Jennifer Maffit picked up some basic groceries at a Shop ’n Save on Greensburg’s North Main Street before the supermarket closed its doors Sunday in anticipation of the storm.
There was no chaos, no pandemonium. The store’s shelves were full of ample jugs of milk. In one aisle, 24-bottle packs of purified drinking water were on sale for $3.49. At the end of one row stood a towering display of Angel Soft toilet paper, eight “mega-rolls” for $7.49.
“They are usually pretty well-stocked here,” said Maffit, 48, of Greensburg as her friend grabbed a four-pound package of rump roast to make fresh dog food. “I’ve never come here and not been able to feed my family.”
That’s a point of pride, store manager John Stangroom told TribLive.
Stangroom has worked at the Charley family’s store for 40 years. He remembers the “snowmageddon” of 1993 and doesn’t want to repeat it.
“We are in fantastic shape,” Stangroom said, standing in front of a cooler full of chicken and beef. “We had enough time to plan. And, for what we’ve had to go through, we’re doing really well.”
Municipalities brace for storm
Municipalities this weekend were preparing for the worst.
• Pittsburgh will enter the storm with an arsenal of 8,000 tons of road salt. PennDOT is sharing resources with smaller communities — state officials, for example, have agreed to share 200 tons of road salt with Plum.
Road crews also are at the ready. About 75 trucks with plows and salt spreaders were in operation Saturday in Pittsburgh, Mayor Corey O’Connor said. About 40 trucks are out of commission, a problem the city often encounters as it struggles to update an old and breakdown-prone fleet.
An additional 19 trucks are available that have either a plow or a salt spreader but not both, O’Connor said.
• Etna and Tarentum issued disaster emergency declarations in anticipation of the storm. The boroughs said doing so authorizes their emergency management teams, borough officials and first responders to take swift action and mobilize additional resources as necessary to protect their communities. Tarentum said its declaration was precautionary. Other municipalities were likely to follow suit.
• Arnold officials and the city’s fire department advised residents that, because of a limited supply of road salt, hills and dangerous intersections would be prioritized for clearing. They advised residents not to travel if they do not need to.
Residents also were advised to keep vehicles parked at least 20 feet away from all intersections and to clear snow from around fire hydrants near their homes.
If there is a power outage, a warming station will be opened at the public safety building at 601 Drey St.
• North Huntingdon police advised residents to remove all vehicles from state, county and township roads before the storm. Not removing vehicles may result in improper treatment of the roadway, damage to vehicles or vehicles being towed.
• Plum police reminded residents they should not park on streets during declared snow events, which remains in effect for 48 hours after a snowfall. Vehicles in violation may be ticketed. Fines for violations are $25 and, if not paid within 72 hours, the parking ticket will be withdrawn and a citation will be filed.
• New Kensington-Arnold School District announced it will operate under remote instruction Monday and Tuesday. All afternoon and evening activities are canceled on Monday.
• Pittsburgh Regional Transit said it will do everything possible to maintain service but anticipates that conditions will make it difficult for its vehicles to go everywhere.
“We want to be there for you, but please stay home if it’s really bad,” the agency said.
PRT said Monday’s commute also may be difficult. Riders can track their buses or light-rail cars in real time at truetime.rideport.org, and sign up for text or email alerts.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced Saturday that all Fine Wine & Good Spirits locations across the state will be closed Sunday. They remained open Saturday.
At 12:01 a.m. Sunday, the state was to bar commercial vehicles from driving on all interstate highways, including the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-79, the Parkway East and Parkway West, and sections of Routes 28; and in the eastern half of the state, U.S Routes 33, 15 and 22.
As frigid temperatures Saturday morning started bringing activity throughout the region to a crawl, flight delays were reported at Pittsburgh International Airport. Between 5 and 9 a.m., at least 15 flights were delayed and three canceled, according to the airport’s website.
More on the coming storm
• What’s canceled, rescheduled because of impending snowstorm• Road restrictions expand across Pennsylvania as forecasters warn of dangerous winter storm
• Hospitals, ambulance services brace for snow set to blanket Western Pa.
Many even were discouraged from attending religious services. Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop Mark Eckman “granted a dispensation” for followers to stay home and skip Sunday Mass. Service schedules were limited.
“The Diocese urges parishioners to place safety first in considering weekend travel,” the group said in a Friday statement. “No one should place themselves or others at risk due to dangerous weather.”
The last time the Pittsburgh area experienced 9 inches of snowfall, for example, was in December 2020, he said. Pittsburgh hasn’t been pummeled with 10 inches or more since February 2010.
While much of the region expects 9 to 14 inches of snow, totals could hit 16 inches in ridges in Westmoreland and Fayette counties, said Kienzle of the National Weather Service.
Pittsburgh will face about 30 to 36 hours of snowfall in the coming days, he added. There are “early indications” that snow squalls and “banded snow showers” will heavily restrict visibility Monday on area roads.
Saturday’s high won’t reach much above the mid-teens, with temperatures Saturday night expected to linger around 10 degrees, Kienzle said. Sunday’s highs will be in the mid-20s.
“Despite the fact that the thermometer says it’s in the mid-20s, with that wind chill, it’s not going to be good,” Kienzle said. “It’s going to be miserably cold. And it’s going to feel miserably cold.”
