With October already over halfway over, the colder weather will soon be here.
For the next week or so, Pittsburgh is expecting sunshine and highs in the low to mid 60s through at least this weekend.
But how is winter shaping up?
Chad Merrill senior meteorologist and long-range expert at AccuWeather says “we’re looking at a very warm winter ahead.”
Merrill breaks it down month by month:
End of October:
Expect a cold snap around Halloween that lasts into early November before warming up again.
November:
“November will bring a couple of cold days and probably the first snow of the season, sometimes in the middle-to-later part of November.”
December:
Merrill expects temperatures to be three-to-four degree above average.
“It will be one of the warmest months of the winter season.”
January:
Two-to-three degrees above average
February:
A degree or two above average.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be cold, or even freezing at times, but Merrill doesn’t expect a long, sustained deep freeze this winter.
Snow forecast:
20 to 35 inches of snow is expected, which is well below the average of around 44 inches.
“We are looking at three to five days with two inches of snow, last year, over seven,” said Merrill.
He adds there will be 20 to 30 days of getting a tenth of an inch. That’s lower compared to the 39 we had last year.
Merrill says the reason for the above average temperatures is “very strong” El Nino.
With that El Nino will mean more moisture in our area, and with above average temperatures, that means rain, with Merrill saying there could even be some thunderstorms in the winter.
With above average temperatures expected, that doesn’t mean there won’t be cold streaks. Merrill expects colder air to come though in time for Christmas heading into 2027.
