Turnpike chief: Forecast suggested 'manageable' snow storm
HARRISBURG - As blizzard conditions began to strand motorists for what would become 24 hours of icy discomfort last month, Pennsylvania Turnpike managers were hampered because they relied on a single afternoon weather forecast that understated the severity of the storm, they said Tuesday.
Testifying before a state Senate committee, Turnpike Commission Chairman Sean Logan said the turnpike officials relied on a Jan. 22 mid-afternoon advisory from AccuWeather Inc., its contracted forecasting service, that called for what seemed a "manageable range" of snow in south central Pennsylvania.
"In that area - New Stanton, Somerset, Bedford - they were calling for six, eight inches," Logan said. "Those folks know how to handle that."
The blizzard - a historic event that for days had been forecast to impact one-fifth of the nation's population - pounded the region. Around 7:40 p.m., several tractor trailers jack-knifed, starting the westbound bottleneck that ultimately stranded busloads of college athletes, abortion protesters, truckers and motorists. Not until 9:45 that night, Logan said, did the turnpike get its next weather-service advisory, one that had upped predictions to a foot or two of snow.
The disclosure emerged near the end of a second legislative hearing into the state response to the storm that left 60 tour buses, 100 passenger cars, and 400 commercial vehicles stranded on an 11-mile stretch with no exits between Bedford and Somerset for nearly a day.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20160217_Turnpike_chief__Forecast_suggested__manageable__snow_storm.html#RBw8QBj48wXccVQz.99
Comment: And the NWS probably provided the same thing for free. Santorum was a recipient of AccuWeather donations in the past so I'm assuming that's why the republican legislature isn't reading them the riot act.
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