Forecast: rain, snow, back to rain

Some places may see 10th of an inch of snow

Pittsburgh-area commuters may have to brush some snow off their vehicles before heading off to work Tuesday.

The snow is a harbinger of what’s to come and puts that early October warm spell squarely in the rearview mirror.

Jared Rackley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said rain that moved into the area Monday was expected to turn into snow as temperatures fell early Tuesday, then transition back into rain as the day progresses.

Because of the mix of precipitation, some areas may get about a 10th of an inch of snow, Mr. Rackley said. The temperature Tuesday is expected to rise no higher than 38 degrees with winds of 5 to 10 mph.

Though seemingly early, Mr. Rackley said snow at this point in the fall is not unusual. The weather service office was among the locations that saw a trace of snow Saturday morning, he pointed out.

“There will be another chance for snow Thursday into Friday,” he said, noting that temperatures near freezing also are expected then.

Looking ahead, the NWS Climate Prediction Center calls for slightly warmer temperatures and normal amounts of precipitation over the next three months. Normal snowfall in the Pittsburgh area is 2½ inches for November and 7½ inches for December.

Western Pennsylvanians are well aware that 2018 has been unusually wet, and NWS numbers

bear that out. Year-to-date precipitation is 49.98 inches, almost 17 inches above the average of 33.22 inches by this time of year.

Meanwhile, the venerable Old Farmer’s Almanac, founded in 1792, predicts on its website that winter in this region will be warmer than normal with below normal snowfall. Mid- to lateDecember likely will be the the coldest part of the season, along with late January and early February, the almanac said. Its prognostication calls for mid-December and early February to generate the most snow.

A rival publication, the Farmers’ Almanac, is calling for a “teeth-chattering” cold winter on the East Coast, with plenty of snow. It predicts wintry conditions will persist through the official start of spring. The publication said it is “red-flagging” March 20-23, which could bring a major storm along the East Coast.

The Farmers’ Almanac, which says it bases its forecast on a mathematical and astronomical formula developed in 1818, predicts unusually snowy or wet weather across the Northeast, MidAtlantic states and Pacific Northwest. It cautions that because temperatures will be hovering near the freezing mark throughout the winter, the precipitation could fall as ice or freezing rain.

Winter runs from Dec. 21 to March 20.