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Times Leader P.M. Update: Sunday, Jan. 31

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The Institute 8-month series concludes, summarizing regional indicators

A winter storm warning remained in effect for much of Northeastern Pennsylvania as a snowstorm rolled into the area Sunday afternoon.
				The National Weather Service in Binghamton&rsquo;s latest update on the warning was issued just before 4 p.m. Sunday, updating the warning they had already put in place in anticipation of the storm.
				The warning began at 5 p.m. Sunday evening and extends through Monday before coming to an end at 1 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. It covers Luzerne County as well as Bradford, Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.
				Anywhere between 12 to 24 inches of snow is expected over the course of the storm, with higher-elevation areas expected to receive the heaviest snowfall. According to the National Weather Service, a few inches of lighter snow will fall through Sunday night into Monday morning, and from there the snowfall should get heavier and more intense into Tuesday morning.
				As always with a storm of this magnitude, travel could be very difficult to impossible due to hazardous conditions on Monday and Tuesday morning.
				The snow began to fall early Sunday afternoon, and has been steadily coming down since.
				PennDOT issued a series of Tier 1 restrictions on Friday afternoon that went into place starting at noon on Sunday. The restrictions cover all interstates in the area, including Interstate 81 and Interstate 80 between I-81 and the New Jersey border. Speed limits on Interstates 80 and 81, as well as Interstates 380 and 84 in Lackawanna County, have been reduced to 45 mph until further notice.
				Under Tier 1 restrictions, the following vehicles are not permitted on affected roadways:
				&#8226; Tractors without trailers;
				&#8226; Tractors towing unloaded or lightly loaded enclosed trailers, open trailers or tank trailers;
				&#8226; Tractors towing unloaded or lightly loaded tandem trailers;
				&#8226; Passenger vehicles (cars, SUV&rsquo;s, pickup trucks, etc.) towing trailers;
				&#8226; Recreational vehicles/motor homes;
				&#8226; School buses, commercial buses and motor coachesnot carrying chains or Alternate Traction Devices (ATD&rsquo;s); and
				&#8226; Motorcycles.
				Additional restrictions may be added during the storm depending on the changing conditions.

Region braced for winter storm