Area residents woke up to the first major snowstorm of the season this morning, setting the stage for the upcoming holiday season and presenting challenges to motorists.

Emergency responders were dispatched to dozens of crashes throughout Lackawanna County, with only minor injuries reported, according to scanner reports.

Responders also assisted motorists whose vehicles, including multiple tractor trailers, were stuck in the wintry mix. Many of the stuck tractor trailers impeded traffic and emergency responders worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to get the vehicles moved and restore traffic flow.

In response to the slick road conditions, the PennDOT temporarily reduced speed limits on several area roadways.

PennDOT urged motorists to avoid unnecessary travel, but to those who needed to drive, speeds were reduced to 45 mph on the following roadways:

Interstate 80 in Luzerne County.
Interstate 81 in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Susquehanna Counties.
Interstate 84 in Lackawanna, Pike, and Wayne Counties.
Interstate 380 in Lackawanna and Wayne Counties.

On roadways with speed restrictions, commercial vehicles not affected by restrictions on these or other roadways must move to the right lane, PennDOT announced.

“Although PennDOT crews have been treating roadways, the department’s primary goal is to keep roads passable, and they will not completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT will continue to treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear,” the organization said in a release.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com.

511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,200 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional X alerts.

Motorists are reminded to allow plenty of space when driving near plow trucks and to pack an emergency kit complete with non-perishable foods, water, blankets and other items.

According to the National Weather Service, snow will stop by this afternoon, with the storm system moving out of the area. Precipitation will become lighter and change to rain or rain/snow mix before ending, and some areas may have lingering snow flurries.

Code Blue extended

The Lackawanna County Emergency Management Agency and the City of Scranton have extended the Code Blue Frigid Weather Alert for through the weekend.

The designation will remain in effect until overnight Sunday, with freezing temperatures as low as 5 degrees predicted until then.