www.maledatimes.com Turnpike reopens after crashes in Lancaster County injure at least 9 people; about 35 vehicles involved - MALEDA TIMES
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Turnpike reopens after crashes in Lancaster County injure at least 9 people; about 35 vehicles involved

By   /   December 26, 2013  /   Comments Off on Turnpike reopens after crashes in Lancaster County injure at least 9 people; about 35 vehicles involved

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Numerous accidents in Lancaster County

https://www.maledatimes.com/?p=10365

By LARRY ALEXANDER and RYAN MELLON
Staff
lalexander@lnpnews.com; rmellon@lnpnews.com
Whether heading to work or hitting the after-Christmas sales, Lancaster County residents were in for a surprise during Thursday morning’s commute:

Snow-coated roads that sent vehicles careening.

Between 7:45 and 11 a.m., as 1 to 2 inches of snow coated the area, county 911 dispatched emergency responders to about 132 accidents, according to county communications operations manager Rick Harrison.

Harrison said that about two dozen of the incidents involved injuries, although no fatalities were reported.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike was backed up for more than 4 miles after a string of multivehicle crashes closed that roadway in both directions.

According to Renee Colborn of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the crashes took place around 9:12 a.m. between milemarkers 287 and 290, between the Reading and Morgantown interchanges.

Colborn said about 35 vehicles were involved and that “nine or 10” people were taken to hospitals, “although that number could change.”

She did not know the severity of the injuries. Minor injuries were treated at the scene.

In the first crash, she said, a PennDOT plow truck treating the snowy road surface was struck from behind.

“They were plowing and salting at the time, and three vehicles hit it from behind,” Colborn said.

A state trooper reached at the Bowmansville station said there were “nine or 10 multivehicle crashes” within a very short span. He had no detailed information.

The accidents all occurred in the westbound lane, shutting both lanes, but the eastbound lanes also were closed for a time as police cleared jammed traffic, Colborn said.

The turnpike between the Reading and Morgantown interchanges reopened to all traffic at 5:15 p.m.
Unexpected storm
So why were so many caught off-guard by the snow that wreaked havoc on the roads?

Eric Horst, director of the weather center at Millersville University, said the snow system developed around 2 a.m. Thursday.

“The fact that it snowed wasn’t a surprise,” Horst said. “Definitely a 1-to-2-inch snowfall was not expected.”

“It was a rare confluence of a couple of subtle factors in the atmosphere,” he said.

Horst said warm air arriving in the area and a jet stream disturbance created a narrow band of moderate to heavy snow, bringing 1 to 2 inches of snow.

With these kinds of systems, Horst said, the storms usually weaken as they move over the mountains and across the Susquehanna River, leaving Lancaster County on the short end of the measuring stick for accumulation.

This time, the storm strengthened.

“It exceeded my expectations,” Horst said. “When you have a rare, unexpected snowfall, it’s really an act of God that you just have to accept as is.”

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  • Published: 10 years ago on December 26, 2013
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  • Last Modified: December 26, 2013 @ 7:42 pm
  • Filed Under: Ethiopia

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