Goodbye to cold weather? Western Pa. is 'trending toward summer'

As warmer temperatures move into the region this weekend, meteorologists predict the unseasonably cold weather will not return.

“It’s one of those weekends we need,” said John Darnley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

Temperatures are expected to reach the upper 70s Saturday and Sunday, with likely precipitation predicted for each day.

The high pressure system that brought cold, dry air to the Pittsburgh area last weekend is nearly gone, Darnley said. In its place, the forecast is showing the arrival of warm, moist air from the south — which will increase the chance for afternoon showers.

But both days mainly will be clear and warm, in contrast to the low temperatures and snow that hit much of the region last Friday and Saturday.

“Everyone’s going to be out on the walking trails, biking trails,” Darnley said. “Hopefully it will be a reprieve for a lot of people.”

Darnley said a lot of the region’s plants were impacted by this week’s late frost, as well as a cooler-than-normal month of April. March was unseasonably warm, he said, which caused the growing season to begin earlier, “only to be hammered by less sunlight and less warmth.”

Another influx of arctic air is unlikely, he said, and meteorologists will begin seeing less of a difference between each day’s high and low temperatures.

Darnley also said this month’s precipitation is below average at this point compared to previous years, despite persistent cloudiness.

“We’re trending toward summer,” he said.