Centre County under winter weather advisory as the first snow of the season expected
Centre County was initially expected to experience little more than a dusting of snow through Saturday — but conditions are now predicted to worsen, with the National Weather Service issuing a winter weather advisory for much of central Pennsylvania.
According to the NWS, the advisory that includes all of Centre County went into effect just before 1 p.m. Thursday. It was initially set to end early Saturday morning but will now end at 4 p.m. Friday. During that time, total snow accumulation of between 2 and 4 inches is expected with winds gusting as high as 35 mph.
“Plan on slippery road conditions,” the NWS’ winter weather advisory warned. “The hazardous conditions could impact the Thursday evening and Friday morning commutes.”
Still, Centre County isn’t expected to get it nearly as bad as other spots around the U.S. According to USA Today, up to a foot is expected in the mountains of southwest Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. And at least six inches is expected in other areas like northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New York.
The NWS issues winter advisories, watches and warnings throughout the season. Warnings are the most severe, followed by watches and then advisories. A winter weather advisory — such as the one ongoing in Centre County — simply asks for people to exercise caution because the wintry weather, which might be light, could cause slippery conditions. A warning lets people know heavy precipitation is expected and should cause significant impacts such as closed roads.
Overall, Centre County has experienced a very mild fall — with State College setting a record high when temperatures reached 81 degrees on Nov. 1. AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines recently told the CDT he expected that mildness to continue through January, although that didn’t mean there would be zero cold spells.
For road conditions and closures, visit 511PA.com. And for weather updates, visit weather.gov/ctp or AccuWeather.com.
CDT reporter Matt DiSanto contributed to this story
This story was originally published November 21, 2024 at 3:13 PM.
