Severe thunderstorms could roll into the Pittsburgh region Tuesday afternoon and evening ahead of a cold front, according to the National Weather Service.
Damaging winds appear to be the primary threat, although large hail or a tornado could not be ruled out.
“We’re pretty confident that we’ll have a good environment to support strong to severe storms north of Pittsburgh, but we’re less confident that storms will be able to develop to utilize it,” the National Weather Service wrote in a post.
No weather advisory or warning had been issued as of noon.
Andrew Kienzle, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Moon, said the storms are predicted to move through Ohio, along Lake Erie and into Pennsylvania.
Thunderstorms are expected to hit the Northwestern Pennsylvania area around 8 to 9 p.m. before moving into the Pittsburgh area closer to midnight, Kienzle said.
The warmup will last into Saturday in Pittsburgh, before temperatures start to drop.
Maximum temperatures for the week are: 77 degrees on Tuesday, 73 degrees on Wednesday, 82 degrees on Thursday, 80 degrees on Friday before dropping down to 65 and 58 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
The more than 20 degree difference in temperatures is what Kienzle refers to as a Spring temperature “speed bump.”
“Spring is the time where not a lot of the temperatures we observe are the average,” Kienzle said.
Instead, temperatures fluctuate between extremes.
While temperatures on Thursday are expected to reach a high of 82 degrees, Kienzle said this is not out of the norm.
The highest recorded temperature for April 2 was 85 degrees in 2010.