{"id":121066,"date":"2026-02-23T07:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T07:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/121066\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T07:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T07:14:09","slug":"gov-shapiro-signs-proclamation-of-disaster-emergency-to-prepare-for-winter-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/121066\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov Shapiro Signs Proclamation of Disaster Emergency to Prepare for Winter Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harrisburg, PA \u2013\u00a0Today,\u00a0Governor Josh Shapiro\u00a0signed a\u00a0Proclamation of Disaster Emergency<\/a>\u00a0to ensure the Commonwealth has the resources needed to prepare for and respond to the significant winter storm forecasted to impact Pennsylvania beginning Sunday afternoon and continuing through Monday. The proclamation enables state agencies to quickly mobilize personnel, equipment, and funding to support response efforts before, during, and after the storm.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), and\u00a0Pennsylvania National Guard (PANG)\u00a0are coordinating closely with county and local emergency management officials to pre-position equipment, deploy personnel, monitor road conditions, and ensure resources are ready to support communities across the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

Residents can monitor the latest updates and safety information at\u00a0pa.gov\/stormlatest<\/a>. The storm is expected to impact most of Pennsylvania, with the most significant effects in eastern Pennsylvania. Strong wind gusts combined with drifting snow are expected to create dangerous travel conditions and also may bring down trees and power lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PennDOT has\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0Tier 1 vehicle restrictions for eastern portions of the state beginning at 3:00 PM on Sunday, Feb. 22, meaning many types of commercial vehicles and oversized loads are banned from traveling on Interstates and the PA Turnpike during the storm.\u00a0PennDOT will likely announce additional restrictions later today restricting all commercial vehicles on certain major roadways in the eastern region beginning Sunday evening. Drivers are encouraged to stay off the roads during the storm and those who need to travel should check conditions first and follow all posted restrictions and guidance from state and local officials. Visit\u00a0511pa.com<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur teams at PEMA, PennDOT, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania National Guard have been working around the clock to prepare for this storm and support local communities across our Commonwealth,\u201d said\u00a0Governor Shapiro. \u201cToday, I signed a disaster declaration to ensure our state agencies have all necessary resources ready to go. If you can stay off the roads, please do. If you must travel, be safe and follow instructions from PEMA and your local authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis declaration gives PEMA the flexibility to respond quickly in response to this winter storm,\u201d said\u00a0PEMA Director Randy Padfield. \u201cWhile PEMA works to coordinate with state agencies and partners, we urge Pennsylvanians to stay informed, heed the advice of local officials, and make decisions that protect themselves and others.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Governor\u2019s disaster declaration will allow the Commonwealth to quickly draw down funding and provide state agencies with the resources needed to assist counties and municipalities with winter storm response efforts. The\u00a02025-26 budget<\/a>, signed into law by\u00a0Governor Shapiro, doubled the amount of state funding available from\u00a0$20 million\u00a0to\u00a0$40 million\u00a0to enable state agencies to respond to disasters in the Commonwealth to keep visitors and residents safe.<\/p>\n

Earlier today, Governor Shapiro and leadership from his Administration\u00a0provided updates<\/a>\u00a0on the Commonwealth\u2019s preparedness efforts in a press conference at\u00a0PEMA Headquarters in Harrisburg. The Commonwealth Response Coordination Center has been activated at PEMA and will be staffed for the duration of the storm to ensure quick and coordinated response by state agencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPennDOT\u2019s county teams are prepared and staffed for this storm, and the department is surging staff and equipment eastward to assist with the storm and cleanup afterward,\u201d said\u00a0PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll. \u201cWe ask for cooperation from the public, as they did during the last major storm, by staying home unless travel is absolutely necessary. This allows our team to carry out their around-the-clock mission safely and effectively throughout the storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pennsylvania State Police is prepared and stands ready to respond to emergencies as this winter storm moves through the Commonwealth,\u201d said\u00a0Lt. Colonel George L. Bivens, Acting Commissioner for the Pennsylvania State Police. \u201cWe urge all motorists to avoid unnecessary travel. If you must travel during the storm, slow down, increase following distance, and give road crews and emergency vehicles plenty of room. Snow and ice can create dangerous conditions quickly, and our priority is keeping Pennsylvanians safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder Governor Shapiro\u2019s orders, the Pennsylvania National Guard is mobilizing about 150 Soldiers and Airmen to support the Commonwealth\u2019s response to Winter Storm Hernando,\u201d said\u00a0Major General John Pippy, Pennsylvania\u2019s Adjutant General and head of the DMVA. \u201cOur Guard members are standing ready in the critical areas of Philadelphia and Northeastern Pennsylvania with essential vehicles and equipment to respond to the needs of Pennsylvanians and local municipalities as the storm moves through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Motorists are advised not to travel during this storm. While the disaster declaration does not explicitly prohibit travel, motorists should be aware of local-level road restrictions that may be in place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PANG is mobilizing approximately 150 Soldiers and Airmen to stage at critical areas and provide support where needed, while PennDOT is positioning equipment and crews in the most impacted areas, including Northeastern and Southeastern Pennsylvania, to assist with the storm and cleanup. Travel restrictions will likely become stricter in eastern Pennsylvania and other parts of the Commonwealth beginning Sunday evening. PennDOT will provide updates as conditions change.<\/p>\n

If travel is essential,\u00a0PennDOT\u00a0reminds motorists that they can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting\u00a0511PA.com<\/a>. 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 as a smartphone app for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by\u00a0following regional X alerts<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0ReadyPA<\/a>\u00a0for information on preparing for this winter storm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Harrisburg, PA \u2013\u00a0Today,\u00a0Governor Josh Shapiro\u00a0signed a\u00a0Proclamation of Disaster Emergency\u00a0to ensure the Commonwealth has the resources needed to prepare…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":{"0":"post-121066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-pennsylvania","9":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","10":"tag-pennsylvania-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}