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Pittsburgh preparing for temperatures to be frigid Tuesday morning

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PITTSBURGH — According to the latest weather forecast, Tuesday morning is expected to bring another blast of arctic air; sub-zero wind chills and single-digit temps could make for a difficult morning. Experts want people who can stay home to do so, and for those who have work or school to be prepared.

Limiting exposure to the cold is the number one recommendation from experts. Unfortunately, not everyone can.

For many, they’ll still have to get up and go to work or school. So what’s being done to make sure their commutes are safe?

“Dead batteries top the list of calls at AAA on these really frigid days,” Jim Garrity, Director of Public Affairs for AAA said.

Garrity says Tuesday morning, as temperatures drop well below freezing, many drivers will jump in their cars but unfortunately, their batteries won’t start.

“In this region if your battery is two years old, three years old, or older you want to have it tested as soon as you possibly can but understand that you may go out to your car tomorrow and the battery may be dead,” Garrity said.

Which is why he suggests giving yourself extra time tomorrow morning and driving slow.

“Not only should you give yourself extra time, you should be driving slowly of course ice takes away all of your connection to the road,” Garrity said. “When it comes to ice it doesn’t matter what you are driving ice affects vehicles of all sizes.”

According to Pittsburgh Public Schools, the largest district in our region, they’ll consider road conditions and students and staff well-being when making their decision to have in-person learning.

They plan to make that call by 3:30 a.m. Tuesday and say they’ll communicate it with families via robocall, text message and their website and social pages.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit told us they take similar precautions, keeping their fleet of busses indoors so that their batteries aren’t shocked by the cold and adding an additive to their fuel to prevent it from freezing.

We spoke with riders who said they plan to layer ahead of tomorrow’s chill and try to time their commute out so that they aren’t left waiting.

“You don’t know if the busses are going to be on time, or if they are going to be late or anything like that so you are kind of wondering how long you’ll be in the cold so you try to time catching a bus on time,” William Harrison said.

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