Hot weather on way, record high temps possible

Don’t let the current cool temperatures fool you. It’s time to dust off the air-conditioning unit in the garage, because we’ll soon be having a heat wave.

The National Weather Service in Moon Township is forecasting a major warmup during the latter half of Memorial Day weekend, leading into several days with temperatures reaching the 90s and threatening to set record highs for May.

“We’re going to be under a building high pressure that’s going to bring us well above average temperatures for this time of year,” said Colton Milcarek, NWS meteorologist. ”We’re looking to break into the upper 80s by Monday and low 90s by Tuesday and Wednesday with the potential for (those temperatures) to linger into Thursday.”

Temperatures in the Pittsburgh area don’t usually approach the 90s until it gets closer to the summer solstice, which is still over three weeks away. But Milcarek said certain atmospheric conditions will soon be bringing things to a boil.

“We’re going to have high pressure and there’s not going to be our usual summer moisture in the air,” he said. “When you take a little bit of the water out of the atmosphere, that’s going to allow the temperatures to heat a little bit more because they don’t have to heat the water that’s in the atmosphere.”

In essence, clear skies and dry conditions mean higher temperatures. That’s how it works in the desert Southwest. While we won’t be seeing anything like that here, we could see temperatures reach unprecedented levels.

“It’s not normal,” said Milcarek. “(Record highs) are definitely in the realm of possibility.”

Milcarek recommends taking precautions to avoid heat exhaustion such as staying hydrated and taking breaks indoors to cool down.

By the end of next week Milcarek said we can look forward to a cooling-off period that should last for a couple of weeks.

“We’re going to be tracking a front that makes its way into the area that will put us back into the 70s or lower 80s, which is going to be a lot more comfortable. We just have to make it through a few days of some really hot weather.”