Snow storm slows traffic

Inclement weather is expected to continue to slow down traffic on Fifth and Forbes avenues… Inclement weather is expected to continue to slow down traffic on Fifth and Forbes avenues throughout the afternoon and evening today and has already caused significant delays for Port Authority buses.

The snow storm, which began around 1 p.m., dropped heavy snow throughout the afternoon, prompting the Port Authority website to issue a rider alert around 5 p.m.

“Buses may be experiencing lengthy delays due to heavy, slow traffic throughout our service area,” reported the website.

The weather behavior is consistent with predictions. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory around 3 p.m. yesterday predicting that a low pressure system tracking northeast along the Ohio Valley could bring 2-6 inches of snow to the region.

According to an advisory posted at 2:33 p.m. today, the weather service said to expect as much as 1.5 inches of snow per hour through 10 p.m. tonight before the precipitation tapers off.  Scattered snow showers should follow.

The advisory went into affect at 7 a.m. today and extends until 6 a.m. Thursday.