Map shows how much snow Pittsburgh will get on Friday
Thursday was the 14th day in a row in Pittsburgh where high temperatures have stayed below freezing. Another blast of cold air, high winds, and light to moderate snow is on the way for Friday into the upcoming weekend.
A clipper system moving into the Great Lakes states from the Canadian Prairies will lead to increasing cloudiness Thursday night, then light to moderate snow Friday.
How much snow will the Pittsburgh area get?
A majority of the area will receive a powdery 1 to 3 inches of snow, with 3 to 6 inches anticipated in the Laurel Highlands and ridges.
When will it start snowing?
The atmosphere is currently too dry to support snowfall, but by 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. Friday, light snow will begin in our northwest counties that border Ohio, then spread southeast through the morning into the early afternoon.
Winds will be southwesterly through the day on Friday, allowing for some slightly "milder" air to move in. The cold front with this clipper system will pass across our area between 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday. This will carry a line of snow showers and snow squalls that will ultimately reduce visibility and be accompanied by high wind gusts.
Winds will remain elevated all of Friday night into Saturday with gusts upwards of 45 to 50 mph possible.
Negative temperatures to follow
As air temperatures tank into the single digits Saturday morning, wind chills will bottom out in the teens to 20s below zero, which is why a cold weather advisory and extreme cold warning have been issued for most of the Pittsburgh area's counties. These advisories and warnings will expire at 10 a.m. Sunday for most of our counties.
The current forecast low for Sunday in Pittsburgh is -2 degrees. While the area should stay away from records, this is certainly below normal for this time of year. Lingering flurries and mostly cloudy skies are expected on Saturday, then skies will become partly cloudy on Sunday as high pressure moves in.
Warmer air on the way
By next Monday into Tuesday, winds will slowly shift to the southwest, allowing a warmer air mass to move in. This will also be accompanied by a larger scale pattern shift in the upper atmosphere that will favor fewer blasts of Arctic air and more mild, moist air from the Pacific and Gulf.
Daytime highs are projected to warm above freezing by Tuesday, with a chance for showers as a weak cold front passes through on Wednesday.