Last updated 10:04 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25. This report is no longer being updated.
A winter storm that could result in Centre County’s largest snowfall in more than five years is causing closures and impacts on parking and travel.
Snow began in Centre County at 1:30 a.m. Sunday and continued throughout the day and night, with forecasted accumulations ranging from 8 to 18 inches. A winter storm warning is in effect from 10 p.m. Saturday into Monday afternoon for the entire commonwealth, and Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a proclamation of disaster emergency to mobilize to state resources for storm preparation and response.
Meteorologists and transportation and government officials have urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel, and many businesses have announced closures for Sunday and/or Monday.
Here’s a look at the snow emergencies, travel and transportation impacts, and closures and delays for schools, government, medical and nonprofit services so far.
SCHOOLS
• Penn State has canceled classes, activities and work at University Park from 5 a.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday. Only employees designated as performing essential services should report during that time.
• State College Area School District is closed on Monday. The school board meeting scheduled for Monday is also canceled. District buildings were closed on Sunday as well.
• Bellefonte Area School District will be closed on Monday, according to a message to families from Superintendent Roy Rakszawski.
• Penns Valley Area School District buildings will be closed on Monday and students will have a flexible instruction day.
• Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District will be closed on Monday.
• Bald Eagle Area School District facilities are closed on Sunday, including the weight-training facility, gyms, auditorium and all other district spaces. The district already has no school on Monday for an in-service day.
• Penn State University Libraries at University Park are closed on Sunday.
SNOW EMERGENCIES
• Bellefonte Borough has declared a snow emergency beginning at 10 p.m. Saturday. No parking will be permitted “on designated snow emergency routes or other streets as directed by the Borough.” Vehicles in violation may be ticketed and towed. The snow emergency will remain in effect until officially lifted.
• State College Borough declared a snow emergency on Sunday. All parked vehicles must be removed from public roadways. All parking regulations will be strictly enforced, and no parking permissions will be granted for the duration of the snow emergency. Any vehicle left parked on a public road may be ticketed and towed to allow for snow removal.
• College Township has declared a snow emergency beginning at 10 p.m. Saturday. All parked vehicles must be removed from public streets at that time. Street parking is not permitted until 48 hours after the storm has ended and roads have been cleared to the curb.
• Ferguson Township reminds residents that parked vehicles must be removed from all public roads once 2 or more inches of snow have accumulated and continuing for 48 hours. Vehicles in violation may be ticketed or towed.
• Harris Township‘s snow emergency is effective at 10 p.m. Saturday. All parked vehicles must be removed from public streets by 1 a.m. Sunday, when ticketing will begin. Reparking is prohibited until the snow emergency is lifted by the township. Public parking for those without off-street options is available in Nittany View Park, Blue Spring Park, Yoder Preserve and the municipal building parking lot. Parking areas of parks are not typically plowed.
• Patton Township is under a snow emergency beginning at 10 p.m. Saturday. Parked vehicles must be removed from public roads until the snow emergency has been lifted.
• Penn State has declared a “midnight clear” for Saturday and Sunday. No parking will be permitted in all faculty and /staff surface parking lots on campus, including Innovation Park, from midnight Saturday night through 7 a.m. Sunday morning and again from midnight Sunday night through 7 a.m. Monday morning, Jan. 26. The roof levels of all five campus parking decks are closed and will reopen Monday.
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS AND TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS
• CATA has suspended all operations for Sunday, including CATA Bus and CATA Ride parantransit service, according to a news release on Saturday night. “CATA will continue to monitor conditions closely and will resume service as soon as it is safe to do so,” the authority wrote. Riders are encouraged to check catabus.com/rider-alerts for status updates.
• Fullington bus routes that service State College Regional Airport are canceled for Sunday.
• Thousands of flights nationwide have been canceled as of Saturday, according to the Associated Press. At State College Regional Airport, most United and American arrivals and departures on Sunday have been canceled, after many United flights were canceled on Saturday.
• PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will implement Tier 4 restrictions on all interstates in the commonwealth beginning at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. No commercial vehicles, buses, motorcycles or RVs will be permitted and speeds will be reduced to 45 mph. Only passenger vehicles that are not towing trailers will be allowed. Among other roads where Tier 4 restrictions will be implemented are U.S. 322 from I-99 to I-81 and U.S. 220 from I-80 to I-180. Route 350 between Bald Eagle and Philipsburg als will be closed to commercial motor vehicle traffic.
GOVERNMENT SERVICES AND OFFICES
• Curbside refuse and recycling collection will not take place on Monday in Benner, College, Ferguson, Harris, and Patton Townships All curbside collection will be postponed one day, with Monday’s collection taking place on Tuesday and continuing on a one-day delay throughout the week. Additionally, any collection of bulk waste or bulk recyclables scheduled for Monday will take place on Tuesday.
• Bellefonte Borough refuse collection normally scheduled for Monday will take place on Wednesday. The borough’s administrative office also will be closed on Monday.
• State College Borough bulk and brush collections will not take place on Monday. Anyone who has placed items out for collection is asked to move them away from the curb so the items don’t interfere with snow removal. Information on regular refuse and recycling collection will be provided on Monday.
• Centre County Government and Court offices will be closed on Monday and will have a delayed opening at noon on Tuesday.
• College Township offices will have a delayed opening at noon on Monday.
• Patton Township offices will have a delayed opening at noon on Monday.
• All PennDOT driver license and photo centers will be closed Monday and Tuesday. Customers who have road tests scheduled will be contacted by PennDOT staff to reschedule their road tests, or they may go online to reschedule their road test.
• The state-owned Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores are closed on Sunday.
HEALTH CARE
• Penn State Health State College locations will convert morning and afternoon sessions to telehealth as appropriate, closing all State College facilities to in-person visits for the entire day on Monday. Penn State Health will contact affected patients. For any questions, contact information can be found at pshcc.org/locations.
• Mount Nittany Health ExpressCare will be closed Sunday. All Mount Nittany Health outpatient locations, including ExpressCare and outpatient hospital departments such as imaging, will have a delayed opening at noon on Monday.
• Centre Volunteers in Medicine will be closed on Monday.
NONPROFIT SERVICES
• The Centre County Library’s Centre Hall branch will be closed on Monday.
• State College Food Bank will be closed on Monday. Normal operations will resume on Wednesday.
• Centre County Youth Service Bureau will be closed on Monday. For immediate assistance, call the 24/7 hotline at 814-234-2100
• Schlow Centre Region Library is closed on Sunday. The library is scheduled to reopen at noon on Monday.
• Centre County PAWS is closed on Sunday. It will reopen for normal public hours on Tuesday.
• Pets Come First is closed on Sunday.
