US Drought Monitor maps come out today. Abnormally dry conditions will increase in our area, but we may see an area popping up as "moderate" drought, but I think we are a week or two away from that happening.

Mild weather continues today and through most of your Labor Day weekend. I have temperatures today hitting the mid-70s, with morning lows dipping to the 40s again.  

Yesterday's low in Pittsburgh was 49°.  That was the first time Pittsburgh had seen temperatures dipping below 50 degrees in more than two months, the last happening on June 3rd.  That's a span of nearly 3 months (85 days). I have mornings that will be as cool as happening both today and on Saturday morning. Besides that, most mornings will see temperatures dipping to just the mid to upper 50s.

Today's rain chance doesn't look that impressive. 

Our best chance will come from 6:00 this evening through around 2:00 Friday morning. Rain totals will likely be less than five hundredths of an inch, so we are not looking at a lot at all. The best chance for rain will come for people northwest of Pittsburgh, with rain weakening as it moves to the southeast. 

I can't rule out an isolated storm or two mixed in with the rain.

The rain will be caused by a cool front that will reinforce cool air through most of your Labor Day Weekend. I have highs today in the mid-70s, but we barely hit 70 tomorrow for the daily high. Highs stay in the low 70s on Saturday. Sunday highs should hit the mid-70s.  I have Labor Day highs hitting the low 80s. 

Stay up to date with the KDKA Mobile App – which you can download here!

Finally, just a quick reminder that now is the time to begin taking your allergy medicine in preparation for the fall allergy season.

Ragweed season may come a little early this season, and we are already seeing evidence of this with high weed pollen levels in place this weekend. Ragweed plants are most active, releasing pollen starting now and peaking in mid-September.  Each individual plant can release up to 1 million pollen spores each season. 

Dry dusty conditions are perfect for pollen to remain in the air for long amounts of time, and that describes our weather perfectly right now. Pollen is an accumulative issue; with more pollen in the air, the longer into the season we go.  This is doubly so when it comes to dry stretches.