White Christmas? Warmer, drier conditions expected through holiday
Those dreaming of a white Christmas might have to wait another year.
Forecasts for the Pittsburgh area show temperatures rising to seasonal averages for Wednesday through Friday, and then moving into unseasonably warm temperatures for the weekend.
High temperatures on Wednesday will reach 42 degrees in Pittsburgh and 41 degrees in Latrobe, said the weather service. By the weekend, high temperatures are expected to reach the 50s, with an expected high of 55 degrees for Christmas Day.
The Pittsburgh office of the National Weather Service said a high pressure system is moving over Southwest Pennsylvania, after snow showers and flurries hit the region the past couple of days.
After the active weather we have had, we get a few days of dry weather before the next disturbance impacts the area on Friday night and Saturday. This will be followed by a larger coastal system on Christmas Day and Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/fDi1HgF0qK
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) December 19, 2023
Possibilities of precipitation remain very low until Saturday, with some slight chances of rain over the weekend, but still unlikely, according to the weather service.
The service said rain showers from a coastal system could move into the Pittsburgh area by Christmas evening, and precipitation probabilities for Tuesday are above 60%.
Forecasters said the coastal system is a bit unpredictable, but they expect the temperatures to stay too warm for snow for the next several days.
Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.
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