Snowstorm Jonas is walloping the region with up to two feet of snow.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for our five-county area, and Gov. Tom Wolf late Friday declared a state of emergency. But he did not include a travel ban.That doesn’t mean drivers should throw caution to the (gusty) wind, said Schuylkill County 911 chief Scott Krater.“All of the highways are snow-covered, and travelers need to use caution,” he said.Most area business closed early. At about 9 a.m., Berks County-based Redner’s Warehouse Markets issued a statement saying it would be closing all Warehouse Markets and Quick Shoppes at 10 a.m. and would reopen at 8 a.m. Sunday.“Please stay home, off the roads and be safe,” the company said.Boyer’s Food Markets, based in Orwigsburg, also closed its stores early.“Due to the hazardous weather conditions, and for the safety of our teammates and customers, all Boyer's stores will be closed by 11 a.m. today. We will reopen at 8 a.m. on Sunday. Everyone be safe out there and stay off the roads.”Boyer’s employee Jolene Miller said she tried to make it in to work. I “tried to make it from Delano to (the) Tamaqua Boyer’s, but it was crazy whiteout conditions and my windshield kept freezing up. I went back home because it was hard enough getting there let alone coming back,” she commented on the Times News FaceBook page.The Weis Markets in Brodheadsville is closing at 2 p.m. today.NWS is projecting as much as 30 inches of snow to fall on Schuylkill County, up to 20 inches in Carbon and Monroe counties. The service at about 10 a.m. Saturday issued blizzard warnings for Carbon, Monroe, Schuylkill, Lehigh and Northampton counties.Carbon County commissioners at about 10:40 a.m. declared a snow disaster emergency. The state Department of Transportation banned certain types of trucks, motorcycles and recreational vehicles from interstates 78, 81, and 176 in central Pennsylvania for fear of crashes that would close the routes.The blowing snow and heavy accumulations brought down utility lines, causing power outages throughout the state. As of 10:45 a.m. Saturday, PPL listed 65 customers out of service in Tobyhanna, 36 in Northampton borough, four in Pine Grove Township, and one in West Brunswick Township.Travelers were stranded as airports were shut down and highways clogged.Times News reader Theresa Chapman commented on FaceBook that her husband had gotten stuck in Arizona after leaving Canada, and would not be able to get home until Monday.In western Pennsylvania, the Duquesne University basketball team got stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as it returned from a game in Fairfax, Virginia. The team won, 86-75.The weather is so bad the U.S. Post Office has suspended operations.Local hardware stores dealt with last-minute shoppers frantic for snow shovels and ice melt.The blizzard warning changed the day for Michael Marzen, an owner of Marzen’s Feed & Hardware in Lehighton.“There are some customers, but we’re thinking of bailing,” he said. It was 10:30 a.m., and the store is typically open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.“We just had a handful of customers, looking for rock salt, bird feed and shovels,” Marzen said. “I live in Jim Thorpe, so I’m going to back home and hunker down.”In Brodheadsville, R.W. Altemose & Son hardware store cashier Julie Parry was waiting for a customer to come in for the snow blower he’d ordered earlier in the morning. “We sold a snow blower yesterday, too. We’ll be closing early today,” she said.Only about a dozen customers were seen shopping at Weis Markets in Brodheadsville this morning as snow drifted due to the winds.