State Of Emergency Declared In PA Ahead Of Storm

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has declared a State of Emergency ahead of Wednesday's anticipated storm. "Motorists are strongly encouraged to delay all unnecessary travel and heed any local-level roadway restrictions that may be in place," the governor's office said in a statement.

The 24-hour Commonwealth Watch and Warning Center at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency is currently elevated to an enhanced watch, which means extra personnel are working to monitor conditions and county needs, the statement said.

Wednesday's storm could dump up to a foot of snow on the eastern part of the state. The heaviest snow is expected to fall during the day Wednesday. Click here for more details on the forecast.

“We are working with state agency partners to make sure county emergency management coordinators have quick and unfettered access to state resources as they’re needed,” Governor Wolf said. “We also cannot emphasize enough the need for the public to take these storm warnings seriously, stay tuned to local media for weather updates and avoid any unnecessary travel.”

PennDOT crews are being moved from western Pennsylvania to assist in the storm response.

The State of Emergency enables the commonwealth to bypass the "time-consuming" bidding process to more quickly procure resources as needed and to access federal aid or resources to respond to county and citizen needs, officials said.

The winter weather amendment includes the following counties: Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Columbia, Dauphin, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming and York.

Patch file photo by Kara Seymour