Pittsburgh weather turned unseasonably warm Tuesday, with CBS Pittsburgh forecasting a high of 81 degrees and saying the strongest storm chances would come this afternoon. The station said today remained a potential FAWD because of that afternoon setup, and the area stayed at level 1 out of 5 on the Storm Prediction Center scale for storm coverage.
If storms do form, CBS Pittsburgh said they would likely bring frequent lightning and downpours, with brief ponding on roads possible. That matters on a day when the city was already running well above the normal high of 62 degrees for mid-April, with 81 degrees sitting just five degrees below the record high of 86 for April 14.
The warm pattern is not stopping with Tuesday. CBS Pittsburgh said Wednesday and Saturday were also potential FAWDs because of strong storms, and Wednesday could reach 85 degrees, matching the record high for that date set in 1883. Temperatures were expected to stay warm through Saturday before crashing Sunday behind a cold front.
That swing is the part forecasters are watching most closely. A brief stretch of spring heat can build instability fast, and CBS Pittsburgh said severe weather chances would stick around for another day on April 14. The setup also leaves room for sharp changes once the front arrives, with the GFS hinting at snow flurries for Monday morning and cooler weather returning early next week.
The bigger pattern remains one of unusual warmth for mid-April, even as storm chances come and go. CBS Pittsburgh said the Climate Prediction Center was showing temperatures slightly above normal for the week of the draft, April 21 through 27, with near-normal rain, and said severe weather chances for the draft event looked low even though uncertainty remained high.
For now, the immediate answer is simple: Pittsburgh gets another warm, storm-prone day Tuesday, a near-record hot Wednesday, and then a sharp cooldown by Sunday. The next significant shift is not another storm line, but the cold front that ends the stretch and sends the temperature falling early next week.
