Pittsburgh forecast: Sunshine Monday, rain and frost ahead

If you’re planning to get outside this week, Monday might be the best day to do it.

Pittsburgh is in for a taste of summer sunshine even as rain and cooler temperatures loom in the forecast the next few days.

Temperatures are expected to reach into the mid-80s Monday — about 15 degrees higher than the average for this time of year, said Jason Frazier, meteorologist for the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon.

A cold front is forecast to pass through the region Tuesday, dropping temperatures to a high of 70 degrees. Potential heavy rain throughout the day Tuesday and in the morning Wednesday could accumulate half-an-inch to an inch, Frazier said.

Though rain is expected to clear out by Wednesday afternoon, fall-like temperatures in the low to mid-60s are forecast to stick around through Friday, said WTAE Meteorologist Ashley Dougherty.

“Today is the last summer like day for the week,” Dougherty told TribLive. “A bubble of high pressure from Canada will build in, keeping us dry but also ushering in the cooler air from the north. It will finally feel like fall.”

The region could even see some frost Thursday and Friday mornings before temperatures pick back up to highs in the low 70s this weekend and next week, Frazier said.

Above average temperatures — in the upper 60s and 70s — are expected to appear through the end of this month, Frazier said. But this week could be a turning point in the transition from summer to fall.

“You can never say never,” Frazier said, “but when we’re looking at some long-range projections, it becomes unlikely that we’ll have another pattern in which we’re able to get the highs in the 80-degree range.”