I've had truckers tell me that I-81 from central Pennsylvania up to the Canadian border in upstate New York is one of the worst highways they've ever driven on -- mainly because of weather-related issues like this one.
The Hazleton area is at a high elevation, and has weather conditions unique unto itself. I live 20 miles west of Hazleton, and there are times that they will get snow and we won’t have any. It also gets very foggy there.
It seems as though I-81 was plopped on mountains, to avoid going through the valleys. That’s why it’s probably so bad....
Have to agree, we drive from WV to MA 2-3 times a year and that stretch from Harrisburg to Scranton is miserable far more often than not.