The frigid cold is back with a vengeance in Western Pennsylvania.

The National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office issued a cold weather advisory for the region, urging people to keep pets indoors as much as possible, wear warm clothing and use caution while outdoors.

Cold wind chills as low as 15 degrees below zero could lead to hypothermia or frostbite without proper precautions, according to the NWS.

As a result, Pittsburgh will open its warming centers Tuesday. The following sites will be open as warming centers from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.:

Beechview Healthy Active Living Community Center at 1555 Broadway Ave. Greenfield Healthy Active Living Community Center at 745 Greenfield Ave. Homewood Healthy Active Living Community Center at 7321 Frankstown Road Sheraden Healthy Active Living Community Center at 720 Sherwood Ave. South Side Market House Healthy Active Living Community Center at 12th and Bingham streets

Allegheny County announced that all of its winter recreational facilities — including the North and South Park ice rinks and the Boyce Park Slopes — will be closed Tuesday.

All programming and public sessions at those sites are canceled. Pre-purchased registrations will be automatically refunded, though refunds could take a few days to process, according to county officials.

High temperatures Tuesday will reach the teens, but it’ll feel colder, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. Winds will reach up to 30 mph, leaving wind chills sub-zero throughout the day.

Several schools have announced closures, delays or shifts to remote learning because of the cold.

Temperatures are expected to improve a bit Wednesday, with the high temperature predicted to reach 40 degrees in Pittsburgh, said Liana Lupo, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Highs dip back to around 20 agrees Friday and into the teens over the weekend and early next week, Lupo said.

“It’s going to be cold,” she said. “It’s not really looking any warmer.”

The average high temperature around this time of year, Lupo said, is around 36 degrees.

But some jumps on the thermometer aren’t unusual, she said. On January 9, temperatures soared to 66 degrees — only to fall to about 37 degrees two days later.

“We typically get at least one randomly warm day in the middle of winter for some reason,” Lupo said. “I wouldn’t call these random jumps completely abnormal, especially these cold temperatures.”

Snow also is in the forecast, with the National Weather Service monitoring a storm expected to pass through the area this weekend. Precipitation, Lupo said, will likely start Saturday afternoon or evening and finish by Sunday afternoon.

Forecasts are showing about one to three inches of snow, Lupo said, but the total snowfall could change depending on how the storm shifts.

“If this storm moves a bit north, northwest, it will be higher,” she said. “If it goes south, we’re not going to get much at all.”

Models show some “extreme outcomes” that are possible but unlikely. There’s about a 10% chance of the region being blanketed in nine inches of snow.

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