Pittsburgh Weather: Brutal cold stretch expected over next 48 hours
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Let's discuss the next 48 hours with another brutal cold stretch expected for our area.
The good news is that we have been here before with temperatures falling below 0° Christmas weekend. Temperatures this time around won't be that cold and the cold will not stay around as long as that cold stretch too.
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It will still be brutally cold, and if you aren't prepared for the cold, you're running out of time. This is a good time to also double-check and make sure you have things like a roadside kit in your vehicle and ready to go.
So today will actually be pretty comfortable for the afternoon.
I expect partly cloudy skies with winds out of the southwest at around 10mph through the afternoon. Highs should soar to the upper 30s and there is an outside shot of Pittsburgh hitting 40 degrees. Places south of I-70 will have a solid chance to hit 40 degrees with places north of I-80 having no shot.
If you've been reading my blog from earlier this week you know I have been stubbornly putting in an isolated chance for snow on Friday morning as the cold front slides through. This was as data was showing little to nothing during that time. Well, model data is now jumping on the front bringing at least some snow. While I still think there's a solid chance for at least a dusting of snow, model data shows very little snow in our forecast. We will monitor but as it stands I don't think the snow we are going to see will be enough to cause any real impacts on area roads. Then again I thought the same of Tuesday's snow.
It doesn't take a lot especially when the timing brings it through just before one of our rush hour periods.
Once the cold front passes by, arctic air will surge into our region.
Temperatures will be down near 12 by 8 a.m. on Friday morning with winds gusting to near 35mph. We should warm up just a little bit, getting close to 20 degrees for afternoon highs, before seeing the coldest temps settling in for Friday night and Saturday morning. I have Pittsburgh hitting 6 for the morning low with wind chills likely dipping below 0° for a short period.
We rapidly warm up though for Saturday afternoon with Saturday highs hitting the mid-30s. Warmer weather will be in place next week with Sunday and Monday highs in the mid to low 40s. We see another blast of warmth arriving on Tuesday with highs expected to hit the 50s. Right now model data is not in agreement on Wednesday but lots of data points are showing highs hitting the 60s.
I am not going there just yet.
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