Western Pa. could break 100-degree record this week; residents cautioned

Pittsburgh’s temperatures could reach 100 degrees this week for the first time in almost 30 years, according to Matt Brudy, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Moon.

The last time the region hit 100 degrees was July 15, 1995, he said. It’s one of several records at stake amid the heat, according to Brudy, which could make this week a historic one in Western Pennsylvania.

Brudy said Monday has an expected high of 96 degrees, and temperatures will steadily increase through the rest of the week. He said Tuesday also is projected to be 96, Wednesday could reach 97 — and Thursday and Friday might hit 100.

However, the heat indices will be higher, potentially in the range of 100 to 105 degrees, according to Brudy, which is how hot it will feel outside. The primary days for this will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with a focus more so Wednesday and Thursday, he said.

“It’s going to make it feel really muggy and hotter than the actual air temperature itself,” Brudy said. “That’s getting into the very dangerous heat index values.”

And on top of these high temperatures, Brudy said there isn’t going to be much relief at night when the sun is no longer out.

The forecasted low temperatures are going to be in the low 70s or mid-70s Monday through Friday, according to Brudy.

“It’s the combination of the extreme heat during the day and then the little relief at night,” he said. “That’s when you get the impacts to be worse than (they would be) otherwise.”

This coming weekend is still a little far out to predict, Brudy said. However, as of now, it looks like temperatures will be well into the 90s, he said, with heat index values in the upper 90s and low 100s.

Brian Hutton Jr., a meteorologist at TribLive news partner WTAE, said the region likely will keep the heat through Saturday.

“There are questions on when a cold front gets here, either Sunday or Monday, to finally break the heat,” he said. “Highs will (be) down closer to normal to start next week.”

As of now, there will be highs in the 90s through Sunday, with Pittsburgh cooling into the 80s next Monday, Hutton said.

Records at stake

Aside from the potential to reach 100 degrees for the first time in almost 30 years, Pittsburgh could be on track for a significant run of record-breaking temperatures this week.

“We just have a whole bunch — a slew — of different records that could be broken with how long the heat’s going to last,” Brudy said.

There’s a “pretty high likelihood” that all six National Weather Service Pittsburgh climate sites in the region could break their all-time records for the higheset temperature recorded in the month of June, according to Brudy.

The six climate sites in the region the National Weather Service keeps official records for include Pittsburgh in Moon; DuBois in Clearfield County; Wheeling, W.Va.; Morgantown, W.Va.; New Philadelphia, Ohio; and Zanesville, Ohio.

Many of those sites could approach the records for consecutive amount of days with the temperature higher than 95 degrees this week, Brudy said.

In Pittsburgh, that record stands at six days in a row, according to Brudy. It happened twice: once from June 14-20, 1994, and before that from Aug. 5-11, 1900, he said.

The National Weather Service’s official record in the region goes back to 1875, Brudy said. In that time period, the Pittsburgh site has hit 100 degrees only 21 times on record.

This week could change that number to 22 or 23 — depending on how many times the temperature crosses that threshold, if at all, he said.

And Pittsburgh has only hit 100 degrees in consecutive days three times since 1875: Two of those times were three days in a row, and the third time was two days in a row, according to Brudy.

“It’s pretty rare,” Brudy said of this week’s potential.

WTAE meteorologist Jill Szwed said Pittsburgh also has a good chance of tying or breaking daily record highs on Wednesday through Friday.

WTAE is predicting 93 degrees for Monday, 95 on Tuesday, 96 on Wednesday and 95 for Thursday and Friday.

According to Szwed, the record for Wednesday is 97 degrees, which occurred in 1994, Thursday’s is 95 from 1994 and Friday’s is 95 from 1933.

Between June 28, 2012, and July 7, 2012, nine out of 10 days had temperatures of at least 90 degrees, Szwed said, noting the hottest temperature of this century was recorded during that stretch — 98 degrees on July 7, 2012.

That’s why this upcoming heat wave could be historic for the Pittsburgh region, especially for this early in the summer season, Szwed said. These temperatures are more typical in El Paso, Texas, or Tucson, Ariz., she said.

Brudy pointed to high dewpoints and a really strong ridge of high pressure in the region as reasons for the high temperatures.

Meteorologists look at heights, which Brudy said is basically how thick the atmosphere is at a certain time period.

“When you have really high heights, that correlates to really warm temperatures, and we have heights that are pushing values that have never been reached before,” he said.

The National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Watch for the region, which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties. It will be in effect from Monday morning through Friday evening.

Brudy said the only solace could be if precipitation or cloud cover develops throughout the week, but, as of now, there’s a low probability of that occurring.

“It’s not impossible, but that would be the one thing that could potentially save us from really having prolonged days of high, high heat,” he said.

In the current forecast, Tuesday looks to be the best shot for some precipitation, according to Brudy, but there’s only about a 30% chance.

“Other than that, it’s going to be widely scattered if we get it,” he said. “Bottom line — it’s just going to be hot.”

How to prepare

Heat was the No. 1 weather-related killer last year, which is the main message Brudy said he wants to convey.

“It’s going to be hot for a long period of time,” he said, which will strain the power grid and potentially cause heat-related illnesses.

The inside of homes will take longer to cool down as well, especially for those who don’t have air conditioning or have air-conditioning struggles, Brudy said.

He encouraged locals to stay hydrated, dress appropriately, check on family and friends who might be susceptible to heat and know where cooling shelters are.

CitiParks announced it will have six cooling centers open this week throughout Pittsburgh because of the anticipated heat wave.

“If you need any food, water, medication, you might not be able to go out … so make sure you have that prepared now,” Brudy said.

He also strongly considered rescheduling any outdoor events this week, especially ones during the day, to later in the evening.

The prolonged heat exposure and forecasted high temperatures for this week are considered dangerous, according to Brudy.

“A lot of people say, ‘Well, it’s just summer; it’s supposed to be hot,’ ” he said. “This is more than that — this is hotter than we’ve been since 1995, so this is unusual excessive heat.”