PITTSBURGH — By early Saturday evening, the roads were clear, and traffic was moving along. That wasn’t the case earlier in the day when Channel 11 saw an overturned car and several others stuck because of the icy roadways.
Channel 11 received several calls into the newsroom in the morning with drivers complaining of unsalted roads that led to a lot of crashes.
Slick roads brought a handful of cars to a stop on Negley Avenue in Squirrel Hill.
“It’s been iffy driving around,” said Bryce Gamble of Mount Pleasant. “It was slow coming into the city, especially in front of the tunnel. It was slow and everyone was backed up, almost stopped.”
Heavy snow fell hard and fast Saturday morning causing a mess for drivers throughout the city.
PHOTOS: Snow bands move through Western Pennsylvania
“There was a whiteout about 9, 9:30 a.m. and you couldn’t even see the city,” said Linda Kikta of Mount Washington. “Across the street, you couldn’t even see the city at all.”
A car rolled over and ended up in the ditch.
A viewer sent Channel 11 Ring doorbell video showing a car sliding on ice nearly hitting an SUV and slamming straight into the side of a house on Parkwood Road in a city neighborhood.
RELATED COVERAGE >>> SUV crashes into house after sliding off icy road in Pittsburgh
Many people said the snowfall on this first day of winter was unexpected.
“Yeah, it was snowing everywhere,” Gamble said. “I was just amazed.”
Dale Stevens of McKeesport agreed.
“It was out of nowhere. I did not expect it,” Stevens said. “I was honestly surprised how hard it was coming down and how thick the flakes were. It was going to be a problem.”
By the afternoon, the City of Pittsburgh deployed 40 plow trucks to salt and clear snow from roads.
“They were fine, slippery on these back ones but the main ones, they did a pretty good job,” Stevens said.
“Though many were feeling the cold, some were enjoying the wintry weather.
“I love the snow,” said Stevens. “This time of year, it’s how it’s supposed to be.”
Kikta agreed.
“I love it, just in time for Christmas,” she said.
They’re hoping it sticks around.
“I hope for a couple days anyway that we have at least a dusting of a white Christmas,” Kikta said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Gainey’s office said it may take 24 hours after snow has stopped to treat all city streets.
The Department of Public Works called in about 40 snowplow trucks to tackle the cleanup. The Department of Public Works made that announcement at around 2:40 p.m.
LATEST DETAILS: Pittsburgh deploys all 40 snowplow trucks following unexpected heavy snow
Channel 11 asked if there was a delay in starting that work Saturday morning but has not heard back on that front.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW