716  
FXUS61 KPBZ 081450  
AFDPBZ  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PITTSBURGH PA  
1050 AM EDT THU MAY 8 2025  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
A PASSING COLD FRONT TODAY WILL RETURN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED  
STORMS SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH. A DRY WEATHER PATTERN WITH WARMING  
TEMPERATURE IS LIKELY THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.  
 
 
   
NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/  
 
KEY MESSAGES:  
 
- PASSING COLD FRONT RETURNS RAIN AND ISOLATED STORM CHANCES  
THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING  
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
 
MORNING FOG HAS DISSIPATED WITH ONSET OF MIXING AND THE LOW  
STRATUS DECK NORTH OF PITTSBURGH HAS NOW MOSTLY MIXED OUT. A  
SURFACE COLD FRONT HAS JUST ABOUT CLEARED THE FORECAST AREA WITH  
NORTHERLY WIND TAKING OVER IN ITS WAKE. LOW LEVEL COLD  
ADVECTION COUPLED WITH A SECONDARY SURFACE BOUNDARY SAGGING  
SOUTH OUT OF LAKE ERIE IS SUPPORTING ADDITIONAL CLOUD COVERAGE  
AND SHOWERS. AS A RESULT, HIGHS WILL BE COOLEST ALONG THE I-80  
CORRIDOR WITH SOME OF FAR NORTHERN MERCER, VENANGO, AND FOREST  
COUNTIES FAVORED TO HOLD BELOW 60F; FROM PITTSBURGH AND SOUTH,  
PROBS FOR 70F ARE AS HIGH AS 80%.  
 
12Z CAMS SUPPORT A FEW SHOWERS MAKING IT INTO OUR NORTHERN ZONES  
THIS MORNING WITH LOW PROBABILITY (20-30%) ADDITIONAL  
REDEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON ALONG WEAK CONVERGENCE. WHERE  
DEVELOPMENT IS MORE LIKELY WILL BE AFTER 1PM SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH  
ALONG THE COLD FRONT, AND PERHAPS MORE SO FOCUSED SOUTH OF I-70  
GIVEN PROGGED FRONTAL PLACEMENT. LATEST RUNS HAVE EXHIBITED A  
BIT OF AN UPTICK IN INSTABILITY WITH POINT SOUNDINGS RANGING  
ANYWHERE FROM 700-1000 J/KG OF SBCAPE. SAID INSTABILITY PROFILE  
ISN'T PARTICULARLY WIDE AT ANY LEVEL WHICH SHOULDN'T SUPPORT  
VIGOROUS UPDRAFTS, AND WEAK FLOW UP TO 500 MB ONLY TOPPING OUT  
AROUND 30 KNOTS ISN'T PROVIDING MUCH SHEAR RELATED ASSISTANCE  
WITH EBWD VALUES AROUND 20-25 KNOTS. THUS, THE SEVERE WEATHER  
THREAT IS LOW TODAY, BUT CAN'T RULE OUT SOME LOCALLY GUSTY WIND  
IN THE STRONGEST STORMS WITH MODEST DCAPE VALUES AROUND 400-500  
J/KG.  
 
OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL DIP DOWN A TOUCH IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT  
WITH COLD ADVECTION IN LIGHT NORTHERLY FLOW. PROBS FOR <40F ARE  
40-60% ALONG I-80 WITH UPPER 40S FAVORED ELSEWHERE. CLOUD  
COVERAGE IS FAVORED TO BE BLANKETED SOUTH OF A LINE FROM ROUGHLY  
FROM DUBOIS TO PITTSBURGH TO WHEELING, BUT THAT WILL BE  
DEPENDENT ON HOW QUICKLY MID- LEVEL DRY AIR CAN ADVECT IN; A  
MORE PESSIMISTIC SOLUTION EXTENDS THAT LINE BACK AS FAR  
NORTHWEST AS FRANKLIN OR MORE OPTIMISTIC AS FAR EAST AS LATROBE.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/  
 
KEY MESSAGES:  
 
- DRY AND BELOW AVERAGE TEMPERATURES EXPECTED FRIDAY/FRIDAY  
NIGHT  
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
 
INCREASING MID- AND UPPER-LEVEL SUBSIDENCE IS EXPECTED TO KEEP  
MOST OF THE REGION DRY ON FRIDAY. SOME LINGERING EARLY MORNING  
SHOWERS MAY PERSIST EAST OF PITTSBURGH, BUT MEASURABLE  
PRECIPITATION WILL PRIMARILY BE CONFIDED TO CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA  
AND THE EAST COAST, ASSOCIATED WITH AN INVERTED TROUGH.  
 
WITH COLD AIR ADVECTION ALOFT AND NORTHERLY TO NORTHEAST FLOW,  
AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURE ON FRIDAY ARE PROJECTED TO RUN 5 TO  
10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.  
 
SKIES ARE LIKELY TO CLEAR FRIDAY NIGHT, ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO  
FALL INTO THE MID TO UPPER-30S DUE TO RADIATIONAL COOLING.  
PATCHY FROST IS POSSIBLE, PARTICULARLY ACROSS THE RIDGES AND  
AREAS NORTH OF I-80. HOWEVER, THE PROBABILITY OF TEMPERATURES  
DROPPING BELOW 35 DEGREES IS RELATIVELY LOW - GENERALLY BETWEEN  
10% TO 20% - SO THE NEED FOR FROST HEADLINES REMAINS MINIMAL.  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/  
 
KEY MESSAGES:  
 
- WARMER FOR THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK  
- RAIN CHANCES RETURN BY MID-WEEK  
- POTENTIAL FOR STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS LATE WEEK  
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------  
 
CONFIDENCE REMAINS HIGH THAT QUIET AND WARM CONDITIONS WILL  
PREVAIL OVER THE WEEKEND, AS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS  
OVER THE GREAT LAKES WHILE A DEPARTING TROUGH MOVES INTO THE NEW  
ENGLAND REGION. BY SUNDAY, TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO RUN  
ABOUT 10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.  
 
RAIN CHANCES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE LATE TUESDAY INTO  
WEDNESDAY AS A CUT-OFF LOW OVER THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY  
LIFTS NORTHWARD, COINCIDING WITH THE APPROACH OF A DEEP TROUGH  
ALONG THE WEST COAST.  
 
LOOKING AHEAD TO LATE WEEK, THERE IS AN EMERGING SIGNAL FOR THE  
POTENTIAL OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AS A LOW-PRESSURE SYSTEM  
TRACKS INTO THE GREAT LAKES, INTERACTING WITH A WARM AND MOIST  
AIRMASS.  
 
 
   
AVIATION /15Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/  
 
VALLEY FOG HAS DEVELOPED THIS MORNING AND IS RESULTING IN  
OCCASIONAL DROPS IN VISIBILITY AT TERMINALS ADJACENT TO RIVERS.  
THIS FOG SHOULD DISSIPATE BY OR SHORTLY AFTER 13Z, GIVING WAY TO  
VFR VISIBILITIES THROUGH THE REST OF THE DAY.  
 
A STUBBORN LIFR STRATUS DECK IS CURRENTLY DRAPED ACROSS NORTHERN  
OH AND NORTHWEST PA, IMPACTING BVI, FKL, AND DUJ TO START THE  
PERIOD. THERE IS SOME MINOR CONCERN THAT THIS DECK WILL CREEP  
SOUTH ENOUGH TO BRIEFLY IMPACT PIT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS,  
BUT CONFIDENCE IN THAT OCCURRING IS LOW AND THE ONSET OF DAYTIME  
HEATING AND MIXING SHOULD HELP THAT DECK RETREAT NORTHWARD. AT  
AFOREMENTIONED TERMINALS UNDER THE STRATUS DECK, GRADUAL  
LIFTING TO IFR AND THEN MVFR IS EXPECTED THROUGH THIS MORNING,  
POTENTIALLY BACK TO VFR BY AFTERNOON.  
 
WHILE VFR IS GENERALLY EXPECTED TO PREVAIL ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE  
AREA THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD, RESTRICTION POTENTIAL DOES INCREASE  
THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING SOUTH AND EAST OF PIT (I.E. MGW/LBE) AS  
SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS FIRE ALONG A COLD FRONT.  
CEILINGS LOWER INTO MVFR/IFR RANGE TONIGHT, GENERALLY SOUTHEAST  
OF A LINE FROM ZZV TO PIT TO DUJ.  
 
OUTLOOK...  
CEILINGS SHOULD IMPROVE BACK TO VFR BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON.  
GENERAL VFR THEN PREVAILS THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH HIGH  
PRESSURE.  
 
 
   
PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
PA...NONE.  
OH...NONE.  
WV...NONE.  
 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS...HEFFERAN  
NEAR TERM...MLB  
SHORT TERM...HEFFERAN  
LONG TERM...HEFFERAN  
AVIATION...CERMAK/RACKLEY  
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