The Pittsburgh area has seen several days of warm, dry weather, and that won’t be ending anytime soon, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Hendricks.
So far in May the region has received 1.73 inches of rain, less than half of what is typical. Hendricks added that about 75% of the rain this month was spread across just three days.
“It’s not enough (rain) to really mitigate any drought conditions,” Hendricks said. “Frankly, it’s probably likely to get worse over the next 10 days.”
Residents have no reason to worry about a drought at this time. In Eastern Pennsylvania, some counties are categorized as abnormally dry, but “nowhere in our area are we considered to be anywhere near a drought status,” Hendricks said.
Of the 153 May's on record for Pittsburgh, this May will come in as the 19th driest with just 1.73 inches of rainfall. It is also the driest May since 1986!
When will it rain again? ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Only very low probabilities of rainfall in the model data through next week. pic.twitter.com/sHIzSFQioQ
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) May 30, 2023
The early arrival of midsummer temperatures can be credited to high pressure off the East Coast that is dominating the Atlantic seaboard. With this weather pattern, the average high likely will be 82 to 84 degrees and the low will be 60 to 64 degrees.
If residents are keeping a garden, Hendricks recommends watering plants in the early morning or late evening.
No rain is expected until Monday.
