Pittsburgh's streak of sticky summer weather is getting a brief reprieve today as cooler, drier air swoops in. According to the National Weather Service Pittsburgh, locals can unpack their light jackets for this comfortable Friday end to an otherwise sweltering week. "High pressure builds across the Great Lakes today and will provide a beautiful end to the week," the forecast states, pushing temperatures to hover near normal with exceptionally low humidity.
But don't let the clarity of the sky fool you, those wide blue expanses won't be quite as crisp. A haze from distant wildfires is making its way south, dimming the sun's fierceness by a shade or two, giving the sky a milky appearance – no threat at ground level is expected. Heading into the evening, you might catch sight of some patchy river valley fog, dropping lows just below the usual for this time of year.
Weekend warriors rejoice as high confidence ridging ensures Pittsburgh's skies remain dry but notch the heat up bit by bit as we sail into Sunday. "Probabilities for >90F jump to 70-80% on Sunday primarily south of I-80," the National Weather Service explains, reminding that while heat escalates, humidity stays in check with no oppressive stickiness forecasted in the short term.
For pilots and frequent flyers, VFR conditions are anticipated throughout the entire TAF period, with only a few cumuli expected to develop. The aerial outlook remains clear as high pressure stands sentinel over the skies for the weekend, but an advisory swarms for early next week as potential precipitation bubbles on the horizon.
