Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Pittsburgh, PA
Issued by NWS Pittsburgh, PA
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984 FXUS61 KPBZ 030630 AFDPBZ Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pittsburgh PA 130 AM EST Mon Nov 3 2025 .SYNOPSIS... The work week will feature near normal temperature with warm advection surges aiding seasonably warm readings Wednesday and Friday. Dry conditions are favored outside of isolated showers north of interstate 80 today and areas of light rain Wednesday evening. A weekend pattern shift portends to more frequent precipitation chances and temperature falling below the daily average. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... KEY MESSAGES: - Low probability shower possible north of I-80. - Warm advection prior to front offers seasonable warm temperature across the region --------------------------------------------------------------- Swift movement of an upper level shortwave across the northern Great Lakes is expected today, pushing through a nominal surface cold front by late this evening. Displacement of the surface boundary plus jet ascent farther north means the region is unlikely to see any rain outside of a few isolated lake enhanced showers north of I-80. The front/trough axis impact will be more tied to increased cloud cover during the late morning to afternoon hours that will temper insolation; temperature will remain near the daily average as this cooling effect is expected to offset modest warm advection in southwest flow ahead of the cold front. Deeper mixing and tightening surface gradient is expected to result in 20-30 mph gusts for lower elevation areas and up to 40 mph in the Laurel Highlands/WV Higher Terrain. Probabilities (no higher than 20%) do not support wind advisory criteria gusts for large enough forecast areas. High pressure will rapidly fill behind the exiting front/shortwave overnight, creating clear skies and weakening wind. The degree of decoupling will be the primary determination in how cold things are come Tuesday morning, but current means favor slightly below average lows. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/... KEY MESSAGES: - Dry and seasonable weather Tuesday. - Warmer Wednesday prior to cold front and increased rain chances ---------------------------------------------------------------- Height rises aloft and surface high pressure strongly favor dry weather and seasonable temperature Tuesday across the upper Ohio River Valley. Another fast-moving shortwave trough is expected to enter the northern Great Lakes by Wednesday afternoon and deepen slightly as it enters New England late Wednesday night. Angle and timing of this shortwave will better allow warm advection in southwest flow ahead of the cold front, which will push area temperature to near 10 degrees above the daily average (closer to 5 degrees for locations north of Pittsburgh). A drop in the trough axis and its attendant jet will better position enough lift to introduce precipitation chances north of I-70 and into the higher terrain. There are subtle variances in low positioning that would alter where showers may occur; the prior dry air mass and system pace could cause this to be more of a NW PA and higher terrain rain shower event while other areas remain dry. Regardless, any precipitation that falls will be light and offer little accumulation (less than 10% probability of greater than 0.25" for all areas). High pressure and height rises aloft are expected to quickly diminish any rain heading into Thursday morning. Lingering wind from the surface gradient should limit the degree of overnight cooling as well. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... - Widespread rain is likely Friday with next low pressure system - Ensembles coalescing more for a shift to colder, wetter pattern ------------------------------------------------------------------- There is little variance expected Thursday as broad shortwave ridging crosses over high pressure at the surface, creating dry and seasonable weather for the upper Ohio River Valley. The turbulent pattern continues Friday as another, deeper upper level trough enters the Great Lakes region. Depending on the timing of the trough/front and its axis of rain, there could be enough warm advection for above normal readings by early afternoon Friday. Otherwise, the passage of the trough axis and surface front is highly likely (60-80% probability of measurable rain) sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning before exiting into the Atlantic. Ensemble model spread does grow through the rest of the weekend into next week, but the main theme in each plausible scenario is the development of a deeper trough over the eastern CONUS amid western U.S. ridging. This pattern favors a turn toward near to below normal temperature with potential for more frequent bouts of precipitation chances. Snow is thus becoming a more likely occurrence sometime between Sunday into early next week, favoring the higher terrain and northwest PA. That said, probabilities are very low for any headline-worthy snow accumulations to occur within the forecast area. && .AVIATION /06Z MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Expect VFR conditions mainly for the area through the TAF period. The only concern is ZZV where latest obs (and those from neighboring counties) show patchy IFR fog beginning to develop. Thus, maintained reduced visibilities in that TAF now through sunrise, after which mixing and strengthening winds will help quickly improve visibilities back to prevailing VFR. Speaking of winds, a weak trough moves through the area today, bringing along with it a shift to westerly winds gusting to 20-25 knots through late morning and afternoon hours. Winds diminish this evening with the loss of daytime heating/mixing, and if decoupling can occur and gusts cease overnight, non-convective LLWS will be a concern as a 35-45 knot WNW low-level jet sets up after 00Z (strongest winds aloft being north and east of PIT). .OUTLOOK... A non-convective LLWS threat lingers until sunrise Tuesday in the wake of today`s passing trough. High pressure will then support high confidence (>80% chance) of VFR, but also enough boundary layer mixing for daytime wind gusts to 20-25 knots both Tuesday and Wednesday. A weak disturbance brings rain chances back to the area Wednesday into Thursday, but confidence in any associated restrictions impacting area terminals remains low. && .PBZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PA...None. OH...None. WV...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS...Frazier NEAR TERM...Frazier SHORT TERM...Frazier LONG TERM...Frazier AVIATION...Cermak