If you fished your newspaper from a pile of snow, you don't need to be told winter's far from over. A week after sub-zero temperatures ruptured water mains and sent the region into a deep freeze, the region has been hit with what could be the biggest winter storm since a Presidents Day weekend blizzard dumped more than a foot of snow in 2003. Hundreds of schools canceled classes Tuesday. Businesses -- and courtrooms in Allegheny County -- closed early and sent employees home. Public works crews armed themselves with sand, rock salt and brine as commuters wrestled with icy roads. A total of 5 to 9 inches of snow was expected to fall near Pittsburgh International Airport by today, with higher accumulations possible in Lawrence and Clarion counties, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Drzal. The snow should taper off as temperatures drop, with lows in the single digits Thursday morning. More snow could fall by the end of the week. Officials say that forecast should lead people to follow two basic rules: Stay indoors, but dress warmly if you break that rule. "You want to make sure you are bundled up, really layered up," Allegheny County Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole said. "You do want to be dressed appropriately if you have to go to work. If you don't have to work, then why go out• Your safest bet is to stay home." Many residents will be doing just that if schools stay closed today. Comcast said it can spot snow days by monitoring the movies its customers view. "When there's school closings, we generally see a spike in our On Demand programming," said spokeswoman Jody Doherty, who declined to release figures. "The kids can't stay in the snow all day." Movie theaters, video stores and malls also could benefit today from the inclement weather. So could florists, especially if the storm alters some spouses' last-minute Valentine's Day plans. "I bet we'll triple the number of customers we had last year on the 15th because of the snow," said Patricia Fowler, 37, who owns Flowerama of America in Ross. "The 15th is always busy. Guys will come in saying, 'I was wondering why my wife wasn't talking to me last night.'" Charles Joseph might get customers today. If he doesn't, the 86-year-old barber will keep busy shoveling snow in front of the Heidelberg shop he's operated for 53 years. "I have some regular customers, and I like to be here in case they do come," Joseph said, although no one showed up for a trim through early afternoon. "Who knows• If I don't get a customer, I'll shovel snow." The storm also hurt business at Apple Printing. "Usually we get 40 calls a day. I bet the phone's rung five times," Ray Losego, 50, owner of the Heidelberg offset printing firm, said yesterday. "If the phones don't ring, we don't make any money. ... If it stops and they clean the roads up, I think it will be back to normal." Other operations remained fairly close to normal yesterday, despite the mix of snow and sleet. About 30 flights -- all of them to cities hit hard by the storm -- were canceled yesterday afternoon at Pittsburgh International Airport. Half of the flights scheduled to arrive and depart last night were canceled. Century III Mall in West Mifflin closed at 6 p.m. because of the weather but was scheduled to open at 10 a.m. today. The storm didn't mean an end to the water line problems. Pennsylvania American Water Co. crews were working last night to repair a water main break that forced police to close Crane Avenue and caused some disruptions in service and low water pressure to homes in Beechview. The storm also didn't change plans for free Valentine's Day parking at Downtown meters after 6 p.m. and in Pittsburgh Parking Authority garages after 4 p.m. "Old Man Winter doesn't have a big heart," said Michael Edwards, president of Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. "Hopefully, the weather will be good, everyone will be filled with love and people will come Downtown to eat at the best restaurants."

Transit shutdown Freezing rain shut down Allegheny County's light-rail transit system Tuesday night and could do so again this morning. The system was closed after at least a half-dozen vehicles got stuck because of an ice buildup on the overhead electrical lines and the rails, said Port Authority of Allegheny County spokesman Bob Grove. If the ice can't be removed overnight -- and the temperatures are expected to remain below freezing -- it could affect rail service this morning. "The potential is there for us to have some serious service issues if we don't get this ice cleared," Grove said. The Port Authority has one diesel-powered vehicle available to try to clear the system's 25 miles of rail lines, he said. The rail cars -- which were equipped with ice cutters designed to clear the ice from the overhead wires -- started getting stuck about 7:15 p.m. When the last rail vehicle left Downtown at 7:35 p.m. and got stuck in Beechview, the system was closed down for the night and shuttle buses put in service, Grove said.

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