Harsh weather system shifts east, misses Pittsburgh

A weather system that was expected to bring rain changing to snow in the Pittsburgh area early Tuesday morning took a hard right toward the east coast.

The forecast changed Monday afternoon, said Ashley Dougherty, a meteorologist with TribLive news partner WTAE.

“We are still getting rain and snow east of the city, as expected,” she said.

As the weather system shifted rapidly toward the east coast after reaching the Appalachian Mountains, the National Weather Service’s Winter Weather Advisory was canceled.

“We had an interesting situation here,” NWS meteorologist Lee Hendricks said. “A lot of the dynamics shifted quickly to the east and left us with pretty much nothing.

“We were left with some rain around the area, but that’s about it.”

Here is the final snowfall forecast for this event through 1PM. Mainly all accumulating snowfall will be in the higher terrain. Any accumulation in the lower elevations will be little to none. The last of precipitation is expected to exit the region by 10AM. pic.twitter.com/lx9heBCM8L

— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) February 13, 2024

Snow was falling in Somerset County, where Hendricks said a total of 2 to 4 inches was expected. Winds were 15 to 20 mph, with gusts to 35 mph.

“You have to go east of the Laurel and Chestnut ridges to see anything,” Hendricks said.

Dry weather is expected for Valentine’s Day, but rain showers are expected late Thursday morning, Dougherty said.

Thursday’s high temperature is expected to be in the lower 50s, but the problem may be the wind, with gusts to 45 mph in the forecast, Hendricks said.

There is a chance for snow after midnight Friday into Saturday, but it is not expected to be significant, Hendricks said.