After enduring an extended run of bitterly cold weather and a snowfall unlike any seen in years, Pittsburgh-area residents will get to enjoy a winter warmup in the week ahead.
The upward trend will peak Friday, when there’s a chance of breaking 60 degrees for the high, National Weather Service meteorologist Colton Milcarek said Sunday.
“It’s going to be quite a warm-up, especially by the standards of all the cold we’ve had recently,” he said. “Get out and enjoy it while you got it.”
Just how cold was it? While January as a whole was 5.4 degrees below average, the second half of the month was close to 20 degrees below normal, Milcarek said.
“That trend continued into February a bit,” he said. “Conditions the first half of February were anywhere between 10 degrees and 20 degrees below normal on days.”
But the week ahead is going to see that reverse, with temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above normal for this time of year.
After a high of 47 on Monday, the forecast for the week has highs in the 50s — 54, 57 and 59 — on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Milcarek said. Friday will most likely be the warmest day, with a high of 60 and low of 45.
“The extended thaw will melt away a lot of the remaining snow and ice,” said Jeff Verszyla, a meteorologist with TribLive news partner WTAE.
Why? Well, “It’s just the way that Mother Nature likes to work,” Milcarek said. “Realistically, most of the time we aren’t normal — we’re above or below normal. It’s reasonable for weather to flip-flop like this.”
The warmer temperatures mean rain, not snow this coming week.
After rain on Sunday, the next chance for rain will be overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. There’s also a chance of rain during the day Wednesday, and on Thursday and Friday, Milcarek said.
But the weather will flip-flop again, with a return of colder weather expected the week of Feb. 23. While now unclear just how cold it will be, the highs and lows are going to be closer to normal for this time of year, instead of severely below.
“Coming off a stretch of warm days, it will certainly feel colder again,” Milcarek said.
For those looking ahead, spring is just over a month away, arriving on March 20.
