Folks in Western Pennsylvania should break out their umbrellas Wednesday.
Meteorologist Jill Szwed, with TribLive news partner WTAE, said a “skinny line of storms” is expected to cross the region between 1 and 5 p.m. this afternoon.
“Any sunshine and heating around mid-day would help to intense a stronger thunderstorm potential,” she said in an email to TribLive.
Gusty winds between 50 and 60 miles per hour are possible. Any gusts stronger than 58 miles per hour are considered severe, Szwed said.
“It’s not a bad idea for folks to secure light-weight outdoor objects. Even outside of the storms, winds could gust close to 30 mph,” she said.
Szwed said flooding is not a major concern, because the line of storms is expected to move quickly. A quick burst of heavy rain is possible.
“We need to kick this system to make way for the summertime warm up,” Szwed said. “Pittsburgh’s hottest day of the year is expected on Monday.”
Temperatures are expected to steadily drop Wednesday and Thursday before warming up this weekend, according to a National Weather Service forecast for the area. A high of 66 and low of 45 degrees is projected Wednesday. Thursday’s high is forecast to hit just 55 degrees before dropping to 43.
Folks can expect some reprieve Friday, with temperatures projected back in the high 60s, according to NWS.
Saturday is expected to have a high of 80 degrees with 86 expected on Sunday.