Pittsburgh woke up to a dusting of snow this Friday morning, creating potential hazards for the morning commute, but the skies are set to clear up as the day progresses. According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, PA, the region can expect "dry conditions with a warming trend expected through Saturday." However, Sunday might serve a mixed bag of weather, with possible ice and snow in the morning and rain later in the afternoon.
With temperatures hovering 5 to 10 degrees below normal and lows in the teens north of Interstate 80, locals experienced chilly wind chills in the single digits early today. These are expected to improve later, offering some relief from the bone-chilling start. A weather discussion released by the National Weather Service notes, "A weak 850-700mb shortwave trough is expected to continue its trek across the center of the forecast area from east to west
overnight, allowing snow chances to continue." However, snow accumulation should be minimal, with a "95% chance of less than 1" anywhere.
For those looking forward to the weekend, Saturday is shaping up to be a dry--if not a bit crisp--day, with temperatures near-to-above average. While a little bit of overnight decoupling might see temperatures drop around 10 degrees below normal, the day should warm up nicely beneath increasingly high clouds.
Attention turns to Sunday's forecast, which brings a low probability but moderate impact potential for light ice and snow accumulations in the morning, highest in the ridges. The long-range outlook continues an unsettled weather pattern with occasional rain chances and above-average temperatures heading into next week. Despite a few weak waves expected to roll through, conditions by late week may take a slight turn towards cooler temperatures.
For the aviators among us, the light snow affecting eastern Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania is set to move out by mid-morning, improving flying conditions. Most of the terminals are VFR with LBE at MVFR, and winds are expected to remain around 5 knots, veering from the northwest to the northeast by tomorrow morning. However, the clear skies might not last too long, as restrictions will likely return on Sunday with a new disturbance and are expected to persist through Monday morning.
