Winter's Potent Punch Heading Toward Pittsburgh: Latest Forecast

PITTSBURGH, PA — Winter officially arrives on Wednesday, and with it comes a major meteorological event to the nation that will bring accumulating snow, high winds and dangerously cold temperatures to Western Pennsylvania.

Possible impacts include travel delays, power outage, wind damage, frostbite, according to the National Weather Service.

A powerful cold front is expected to sweep through the area early Friday morning, with temperatures likely to fall 25 to 35 degrees with a few hours of its passing. Ahead of the front, the region could see as much as an inch of rain Thursday and Thursday night.

The weather service is not yet predicting how much snow will fall in the Pittsburgh area. State College-based AccuWeather is forecasting accumulations of up to three inches in the metro area, with as much as six inches north and east of the city.

How cold will it get? The weather service says Friday night's low temperature will be about five degrees. The high on Christmas Eve will be near 14. The low that night will be around 6 and the high on Christmas Day will be near 17.

Wind chills during the holiday weekend could range from 10 to 20 degrees below zero.