DENVER, Pa. — Sunday’s freezing rain left hazardous conditions on South Central Pa. roads.
A mixture of freezing rain, sleet and snow iced over many roads, leading to white-knuckle driving for some drivers.
“I’ve just been kind of sketched out since [the ice rain began], just kind of making sure I don’t slide. I was scared to even move my car when it was parked,” said Jordan Bowman of Lancaster, who said she spent most of Sunday driving.
“The rain is kind of depressing and some of the roads are still a little icy, so you have to be careful with that,” said Lancaster resident Joseph Rushemeza.
Temperatures briefly warmed on Sunday afternoon, melting some of the ice. But as nightfall approached, PennDOT officials were preparing for the roads to re-freeze. Full shifts are scheduled to prepare roads by 4 a.m. in all eight counties in South Central Pa.
Unlike snow, treating roads for freezing rain doesn’t require a plow.
“It’s a matter of putting down a higher concentration of an anti-skid, which means a little bit less salt, a little bit more gravel mixture, in order to give some traction to the road and let the salt do its work,” said PennDOT spokesperson Fritzi Shreffler.
PennDOT officials advise people to avoid unnecessary travel during freezing rain and other winter weather that poses hazardous conditions.
If you do need to drive, officials advise going at or below the speed limit. And if your car starts sliding on black ice, don’t slam on the brakes.
“The best thing you can do is take your foot off the pedal. If you start going into any spin or slide, turn your wheel just slightly in that direction,” Shreffler said. “A lot of people want to overcorrect, and that sends them spinning even more.”