Pittsburgh Weather: Winter storm system to bring snow and rain Wednesday
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — While we are in the midst of some quiet weather Monday night and Tuesday, a winter storm system is set to impact the region by daybreak Wednesday.
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This system is one that looks to bring snow and rain to the area, possibly even some freezing rain. As of Monday evening, this storm was located in the southwest.
As it crosses the country, the low pressure driving this storm will strengthen and gather additional moisture. This moisture will interact with cooler temperatures pooled over much of the north. This will set up a temperature profile that will likely start the precipitation as snow before dawn Wednesday.
As this area of low pressure strengthens, it will more efficiently pull in warmer air from the south. This ingredient will begin to transition our snow to rain, and possibly freezing rain, by mid-morning Wednesday.
Temperatures look to stay warm enough for mainly rain on Wednesday afternoon and evening, with a change back to snow by midnight Thursday morning. The snow showers that begin early Thursday do not look as impactful as the snow early Wednesday.
Let's talk about impacts. Often when storms like this begin as snow, that snow can be heavy and rather wet. This brings the likelihood that early morning snow on Wednesday will stick to most everything. Snow that does stick to the ground will have a mashed potato-like consistency and could make travel Wednesday morning difficult. Wednesday's morning commute will see the greatest impact from this system.
These are the early accumulation estimates. If the storm's energy (the low pressure) travels more to the north, the amounts will be lessened by rain. If the low-pressure center takes a more southerly approach, the accumulations will need to be bumped up.
The models are still being wishy-washy in that regard, and we know you need a baseline to help you plan, so we are giving you early thinking of what the totals will be. It is important to note that by the afternoon, the morning's accumulations will be squashed down by the rain. This is important to note since these snow totals will likely not last into the afternoon.
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