The season's first measurable snowfall was the apparent cause of automobile accidents on the Merriam and Natalie mountains, and elsewhere in Northumberland County, during a messy commute Tuesday morning.
Snow began moving into the region in the overnight hours. While Northumberland County was not part of the National Weather Service's winter advisory on Monday, snow was beginning to blanket the ground by daybreak. An inch or two accumulated throughout the morning before the snow tapered off by about noon.
One sent to hospital
The accident on Natalie Mountain was one of the first in the region at about 8 a.m. No injuries were reported, but there were traffic restrictions while emergency responders tended to those involved. No details were available from police.
A crash just before 10 a.m. on the Merriam Mountain resulted in a woman being transported to Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital by AREA Services ambulance for treatment of neck and back pain.
Mount Carmel Township Police Chief Brian Hollenbush said the female driver was traveling down the Mount Carmel side of the mountain when her an Acura TSX slid into a ditch. The highway was icy, Hollenbush said.
Dave's Auto Body of Kulpmont towed the vehicle from the scene.
(See Police Blotter for a weather-related crash report from Upper Augusta Township.)
Weather improving
Tuesday's wintry conditions, which also led to local school delays, are a distant memory today, with highs expected to reach 40 and mostly sunny conditions forecast. The remainder of the work week will be similar, with highs in the 40s and overnight lows in the upper 20s.
Bus in crash
In Mifflin County in central Pennsylvania, state police said a school bus hit an embankment and overturned on a snow-covered road. The driver and several children suffered minor injuries, police said.
The snow is the second dose of winter for some communities in southeastern Pennsylvania. At the end of October, Pennsylvania was dealt a glancing blow by a nor'easter that moved up the coast in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Philadelphia's northern suburbs saw the worst of that one, with some areas in Bucks County getting 4 inches.