Weather
Coldest Recorded May Temperatures Ever Possible For Pittsburgh
An arctic air mass is expected to keep southwestern Pennsylvania in the deep freeze for days.
PITTSBURGH, PA — The coldest recorded May temperature ever in Pittsburgh could occur Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service. A freeze warning has been issued from midnight until 9 a.m. Saturday for all of western and central Pennsylvania.
A hard freeze will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation.
The weather service predicts temperatures could tumble to as low as 25 degrees Saturday morning. The lowest recorded temperature in May in Pittsburgh is 26; that occurred twice, in 1963 and 1970. The last time the temperature dipped into the 20s in May was 1983, when a low of 28 was recorded on May 28.
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Climate records date back to the 1870s.
For fans of normal May weather, there is little good short-term news. Over the next five days, the weather service predicts high temperatures near typical low temperatures for this time of year. Near-record low temperatures will be the norm each night.
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Temperatures are not expected to rebound to near-normal until next Thursday.
To put this cold weather in perspective, here's an image that shows our forecast temps (bar graph) compared with normal and record values. Over the next 5 days, forecast highs will be near our typical lows. Meanwhile, forecast lows will be near record values! Chilly. #ahhhhhhh pic.twitter.com/7EljhIM5pw
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) May 8, 2020
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