Very Dangerous Weather–Snow Squalls

One of the things that I talked about in the book (Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities) is that a relatively innocent sounding forecast of “snow showers” can lead to some of the most dangerous travel conditions on highways. Unsuspecting drivers suddenly run into reduced visibility from heavy snow as roads instanty become icy, often leading to mutli-vehicle accidents.

One such accident occurred on I-80 in Jefferson County in Pennsylvania on Monday. Fortunately, no one was killed in the 45-vehicle accident that included a significant number of tractor trailers. WJAC-TV in Johnstown had some video coverage of the accident.

I-80 is notorious for such accidents, and much of the reason is related to the frequency of snow squalls associated with lake-effect snow, the situation that spawned yesterday’s accident.

Unrelated note:

I know that I have not been posting with great regularity lately, but don’t forget…I do occasionally post blogs on the Huffington Post as well.

Be careful even if the forecast sounds innocent!