As December arrives, preps are underway for blast of wintry weather in Pa.
QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- While most of the Philadelphia area will see rain from the storm heading our way, people in the northwest suburbs, Lehigh Valley, and the Poconos could see some flakes of snow.
Chopper 6 was overhead Monday afternoon as PennDOT crews treated the Schuylkill Expressway with salt brine, hoping to prevent a slippery morning commute on Tuesday.
"That's something that you really need to be mindful about, with the temperatures falling, especially overnight, absolutely. There could be more ice, especially that black ice in low-lying areas, on bridges," Krys Johnson, a spokesperson for PennDOT's District 6, said.
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While PennDOT has the state and interstate highways covered, local plowing companies like Hulton Mason Snow are preparing to head out around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"We're on alert 24/7, so we consider ourselves part-time forecasters because we're sitting there glued to the TV, always watching the forecast," Walt Hulton told Action News.
His company serves Warminster all the way up to Allentown. When they hear that magic "s word" from one of our Action News meteorologists, it's music to their ears.
"That's what we do every year, we pray for the big one. The last few years have been slightly below average, so we're hoping to make up for that this year," Hulton said.
At a Wawa in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, drivers lined up to fill their tires with air as others filled up their gas tanks as part of their storm preparations.
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"I'm just filling up my gas and trying to make sure we get some extra salt to put around our house," said Ibrahim Abbakar of Allentown.
Forecasters expect the Poconos to receive up to six inches of snow, while the Lehigh Valley could see 1 to 3 inches. Philadelphia is expected to get mostly rain.
"In the Poconos, it's going to be maybe a plowing operation, but down here in the valley with a mix it's going to be laying down a lot of material trying to keep the roads from icing up and trying to keep the roads from being slick," said Sean Brown of PennDOT.
For others, snow in the forecast means a trip to the hardware store.
"As soon as they hear it's gonna snow, the first person walks in the front door and asks, 'Where's the ice melt?" said June Jaquith, the service desk supervisor at the Home Depot in King of Prussia.
There wasn't a mad rush to stock up on supplies at the Home Depot in King of Prussia on Monday, but employees here say it usually takes the first snow of the season for people to realize what necessities they're missing.
"Always have an extra ice scraper for your windshield because I break one at least once a year!" Joules Malsbury advised customers.
PennDOT says the interstates are the priority and will be treated first, state highways like Route 309 will be second and might take a little bit longer, so keep that in mind as you plan your morning commute.
Last winter in Pennsylvania, there were 29 fatalities on snowy, slushy, or ice-covered roadways, according to PennDOT's preliminary data. Seventeen of those fatalities were in crashes where a driver was going too fast for the conditions or veered out of their lane.
