A warm week is ahead for the Pittsburgh region, with highs climbing from 74 degrees Monday to 84 degrees by Saturday. The stretch will run 20 to 30 degrees above normal, and the best chance for record highs comes Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday is forecast to reach 82 degrees with a low of 65, while Thursday should top out at 80 with an overnight low of 64. Those are the days most likely to challenge the record highs, with a 41% chance of breaking the mark on each day. The record high for Wednesday is 85 degrees, set in 1883, and Thursday's is 86 degrees, set in 2002. Saturday's forecast high of 84 degrees would remain below its record of 90 degrees, set in 1896.
Colton Milcarek said the first hot spell of the season can catch people off guard, and he urged anyone especially sensitive to heat to take breaks outdoors and stay hydrated. The warm lows matter too: with a 90% or better chance of breaking the record warm lows on Wednesday and Thursday, overnight cooling will be limited and relief will be harder to find.
The warmth is arriving with some unsettled weather. After a chance of passing showers Monday morning, there is a 30% to 50% chance of afternoon showers and storms through Friday, a reminder that summerlike heat in Pittsburgh can bring summerlike rain with it. By the end of the week, the region will have its first real taste of hot-weather patterns, and the question is not whether it will feel different — it already will — but how close Wednesday and Thursday come to the record books.
