Record-breaking cold prompts freeze warning

The coldest temperatures ever recorded in May in the Pittsburgh area are expected overnight Friday into Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

A freeze warning is scheduled to run from midnight to 9 a.m. Saturday, with the low temperature expected to get down to 26 degrees, meteorologist Michael Brown said.

If that happens, it would break the daily record low for Saturday of 30 degrees set in 1983.

It would tie the coldest temperature ever recorded for the entire month of May, which was recorded twice in 1963 and 1970. Those records go back to 1875, Brown said.

Exactly how cold it will get will depend on cloud cover, he said. It could be a degree or two warmer if clouds stick around longer.

Hard freeze conditions will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation, the freeze warning states. It advises that steps should be taken to protect tender plants from the cold.

Some snow is expected, but will not be significant, Brown said.

Saturday is expected to be very cold with a high temperature only in the mid-40s. Highs are forecast to be 15-to-25 degrees below the average of 69 degrees for the next five-to-six days, Brown said.

It will be so cold that the forecast high temperatures over the next five days will be near the typical low temperatures, according to the National Weather Service. Lows will be near the records.

To put this cold weather in perspective, here's an image that shows our forecast temps (bar graph) compared with normal and record values. Over the next 5 days, forecast highs will be near our typical lows. Meanwhile, forecast lows will be near record values! Chilly. ?#ahhhhhhh pic.twitter.com/7EljhIM5pw

— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) May 8, 2020

Relief is not expected until late next week, when the high temperatures are expected to get back into the upper 60s and low 70s on Thursday and Friday.