A blast of winter came through the county last evening leaving behind numerous minor vehicle accidents on primary and secondary roads. The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh reported that an arctic front swept through western Pennsylvania between 8 and 9 p.m. that was accompanied by low visibility, bursts of snow, gusting winds, falling temperatures and quickly accumulating snow, about two inches during that hour. Snow squalls and slippery roads hampered driving efforts all across the county. Armstrong 911 requested emergency vehicles to proceed with caution due to extremely hazardous road conditions. Armstrong 911 operators said that a number of vehicles were reported to have slid into the median along Route 28 between Freeport and Kittanning. In addition, Armstrong 911 said that several vehicles lost control and were sliding all over on what was being reported by operators and police as a "sheet of ice" along Route 66 in Parks Township at the bottom of the hill leading into North Vandergrift. PennDOT reported that its crews were out putting a 50-50 mix of salt and anti-skid material on roadways. By 9:30 p.m. the main roads had been salted, officials said. "We're going to keep on hammering," said Dave Schaffer, PennDOT acting assistant county manager. "We kept the afternoon shift on until midnight and will decide later if we're going to bring the day shift out at midnight." Schaffer said PennDOT's radioman was taking calls during the storm and dispatching trucks to problem areas as soon as they were made aware.

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