Winter Storm Bearing Down On Pittsburgh Area

PITTSBURGH, PA — Mother Nature is preparing to bring a holiday gift to Pittsburgh that would make the late crooner Bing Crosby of "White Christmas" fame very happy. Significant snow accumulation is expected is expected in southwestern Pennsylvania Christmas Eve early into Christmas Day.

Forecasters are unanimous in their agreement that Pittsburgh will experience its first White Christmas since 2017, but they differ on how much snow will fall.

Lovers of the white stuff will be happy with the National Weather Service's prediction of four to six inches for the Pittsburgh metro area, with five to eight inches possible in higher terrains. The weather service says rain will change over to snow quickly Thursday, with heavy snow possible during the evening.

Travel could be impacted, according to the weather service.

State College-based AccuWeather also is warning for a rapid road freeze in the area Thursday, but its forecast calls for accumulations of two to four inches overnight Christmas Eve before tapering to snow showers early Christmas morning.

The Weather Channel is predicting a ho-hum snow event rather than a ho-ho-ho one, with just one to three inches falling.

All three forecasting services are warning people to brace for much colder temperatures with the snow. The National Weather Service predicts a high temperature of around 50 on Christmas Eve, but a high of only 20 on Christmas Day.

Temperatures are expected to rebound over the weekend, with highs Saturday in the upper 20s and highs Sunday near 40.