Snow possible as weather turns chilly this weekend

For the first time since last spring, that four-letter weather word — snow — is being mentioned again.

And it’s not one bit unusual for this time of year according to Jenna Lake, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Moon Township.

“It’s very typical for this time of year,” she said. “A cold front is coming through (on Thursday) and will bring us a brief shot of heavy rain. But it will still be in the upper 50s on Friday.”

The defining cold front that sends the region hurtling from very mild late fall into winter will happen Friday night into Saturday morning.

“Friday night we’ll see more rain showers that will potentially mix with some snow on Saturday morning,” Lake said. “And that’s when it’s going to feel more like winter.”

She predicts the rain/snow mix will continue for the next four or five days.

Temperatures will drop down into the 30s on Friday night and only get into the 40s on Saturday, she said.

“It doesn’t look like we’re going to be below freezing at the surface. It’s just going to be very cold aloft where that snow is going to form,” Lake said. “We’ll probably see some snowflakes mixed with rain for Saturday.”

Lake said it’s too soon to say how long the cold weather will stick around, but that it’s a safe bet the region won’t see temperatures higher than the 40s until at least the middle of next week.

“Next Wednesday, our models bring us to 57 (degree high) so we may potentially have another warmup.”

As for fall foliage, many areas are still seeing some lovely leaves on trees but Lake said don’t count on seeing that for long.

“It’s going to be pretty windy tomorrow with 25 mile per hour winds so the foliage you’re seeing right now will probably be gone due to (Thursday’s) rain and (tomorrow’s) wind, unfortunately.”