It's looking like a sizzler in Pittsburgh today, with temperatures hiking up well above normal and heat indices hitting the mid to upper 90s. Things might take a stormy turn this afternoon and evening with a "slight risk for severe storms" on the horizon, according to the National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA.
The forecast is a bit of a puzzle today with confidence low on where precisely the thunder will roll and if the mercury will skyrocket—thanks in part to a few tricky variables like cloud cover and storm development, the NWS Pittsburgh is playing the waiting game and monitoring a weak cold front that's poised to merge with moisture by the afternoon, pumping up the potential for severe weather conditions where it matters most. Weak wind shear, warm air stubbornly parked aloft, and robust destabilization might be ingredients for an intense weather mix.
Don't expect much respite from the heat on Thursday or Friday either, temperatures will continue to be "well above normal" with the added threat of potential afternoon convection courtesy of another shortwave trough shaking things up in the atmosphere, NWS Pittsburgh outlines.
VFR conditions should hold until the stormy guests arrive mid to late afternoon Wednesday, and keep a vigilant lookout—things could flip to "scattered showers and thunderstorms" on the runway until Saturday with an assembly line of disturbances crossing through.
No warnings are currently in place for the Pittsburgh area or its Ohio and West Virginia neighbors—yet. Stay tuned to the local forecast for the latest updates and be ready for a muggy, thunder-riddled wrap-up to August.
