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Bundle Up, Pittsburgh's Low Temperatures To Follow Us Into 2018

Gene J. Puskar
/
AP
A woman bundled against the wind and cold walks across the Rachel Carson bridge over the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh, Monday, Jan. 4, 2016.

Pittsburgh is feeling some of the coldest temperatures of the year and it's not expected to let up anytime soon.

According to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, the single-digit and teen temperatures will likely persist through the New Year and early January.

Senior Meteorologist Michael Kennedy said these temperatures are well below the average for this time of year.

“It’s definitely anomalously cold at all levels at the moment,” Kennedy said.

He said the 30-year average temperature on this day is 23 degrees. Near Pittsburgh International Airport, where the NWS has its Pittsburgh office, it was just 7 degrees Wednesday morning. Such a large shift from year to year is not uncommon, Kennedy said.

“We’re in the Northeast, we can see big swings, especially in the winter,” Kennedy said.

The record high for Dec. 27 was 70 degrees. That was in 1904, Kennedy said.

Fortunately, for the Pittsburgh region, the cold temperatures aren’t expected to bring much snow. That wasn’t the case in Erie, which got a record-shattering 4 feet of snow in just 30 hours. Erie residents said it was unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.

“We get our full range of weather,” Kennedy said. “That’s what makes it fun.”

Friday could bring some light snow to Pittsburgh, Kennedy said, and will be one of the warmest days of the next week, with a high in the 20s.

Kennedy said those who are headed out into the cold should remember to check the forecast before leaving the house. The National Weather Service says that frostbite can occur in just a matter of minutes, targeting exposed skin.

More cold weather tips are available at the NWS website.