Pittsburgh Weather: Brutal cold stretch expected over next 48 hours

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Let’s cover the next 48 hours with another brutal stretch of cold forecast for our area.

The good news is that we’ve been here before in temperatures below 0°C over the Christmas weekend. The temperatures won’t be as cold this time and the cold won’t last as long as this cold stretch.

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It’s still going to be brutally cold, and if you’re not prepared for the cold, you’ll run out of time. This is a good time to also check and make sure you have things like a breakdown kit in your vehicle and ready to go.

So today it will actually be quite comfortable for the afternoon.

Expecting partly cloudy skies with winds from the southwest at around 10 mph by mid-afternoon. The highs should be in the upper 30’s and there is an exterior shot of Pittsburgh hitting 40 degrees. Locations south of I-70 have a solid chance of hitting 40 degrees, while locations north of I-80 have no shot.

If you read my blog from earlier this week, you know I’ve been doggedly planning for an isolated chance of snow Friday morning as the cold front slips through. This was because the data showed little to nothing during that time. Well, model data is now jumping to the front, bringing at least some snow. While I still think there is a good chance of at least some snow cover, the model data in our forecast shows very little snow. We will monitor this but as it stands I don’t think the snow we will see will be enough to have any real impact on the roads in the area. On the other hand, I thought the same thing about Tuesday’s snow.

It doesn’t take much, especially when the timing pulls it through just before one of our rush hours.

Once the cold front has passed, arctic air will pour into our region.

Temperatures will drop around 00:00 by 08:00 on Friday morning with wind gusts approaching 35mph. We should just warm up a bit and get close to 20 degrees for the afternoon highs before we see what sets in for the coldest temperatures for Friday night and Saturday morning. I have Pittsburgh hitting 6 for morning low with wind chills likely dipping below 0° for short periods.

We’re quickly warming up for Saturday afternoon, however, with Saturday highs hitting the mid-30s. Warmer weather is set for next week with Sunday and Monday highs in the mid to low 40’s. We’re seeing another burst of heat on Tuesday, with highs expected to hit the 50s mark. Right now, the model data doesn’t agree on Wednesday, but many data points show highs that hit the 60’s.

I’m not going there yet.

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