This afternoon Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf  declared a state of emergency in preparation for the storm expected to impact PA, especially in the southeast and south central regions of the state. The disaster emergency proclamation enables state and local authorities to respond to any need as quickly as possible.

“Declaring a state of emergency allows the commonwealth to deliver state resources wherever they’re needed as quickly as possible,” Gov. Wolf said in a press release. “We have multiple state agencies working at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to monitor weather conditions across the state and we will respond to help local governments and residents in need.”

The Philadelphia Streets Department dispatched trucks on Wednesday evening to brine main arteries, bridge decks and streets in higher elevations. 

Salting of streets will not begin until the snow actually arrives, but the Street Department is preparing for a full implementation of their salting and plowing operations. 

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) will be closely monitoring the anticipated storm’s arrival and will facilitate calls with city leaderships and city agencies, such as Police, Fire, SEPTA, PennDOT, the School District of Philadelphia, and the National Weather Service. 

The OEM will activate Philadelphia’s Emergency Operations Center to monitor the impact of the storm, if necessary, and to coordinate response operations among agencies. 

Local  meteorologists are already reporting that the impending storm could leave as much as a foot or more of snow in the Philadelphia area.

According to the National Weather Service 12 to 16 inches of snow could be on the ground by Sunday morning. 

Because of the impending storm, the Philadelphia Police Department is reminding all residents that there is a “No Savies” rule in effect. Meaning, you cannot save a parking spot that you may have dug out. 

If you do and the police are called, they will kindly remove the cones.