Pittsburgh Weather: Wildfire smoke to create unhealthy pollution levels, code red issued
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Canadian wildfire smoke is expected to create unhealthy levels of pollution for the Pittsburgh area on Wednesday, causing the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to issue a code red.
In the Pittsburgh area, a code red was declared for Mercer, Lawrence, Butler, Armstrong, Indiana, Beaver, Allegheny, Westmoreland, Washington, Greene, Fayette and Somerset counties.
On a code red day, the DEP said young children, older people and those with respiratory problems are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should avoid outdoor activities. Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.
We are at the tail end of the rain and thunderstorm activity that started off our week. We will see sunshine for a few days before the heat and humidity crank up, and our rain and thunderstorm chances return for the weekend.
Temperatures will remain a little below average Wednesday. (The average high temperature is 82 degrees.) Spreading sunshine is expected though.
From there, temperatures will build into the mid to upper 80s by the weekend. This will be coupled with high humidity levels, making for a steamy weekend. This will also lead to weekend instability. That means shower and thunderstorm chances will ramp up, too.
Temperatures look to remain near or above average through most of the forecast.
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