A WALK IN THE CLOUDS
Jordan and Eevanna Lundquist take a morning walk in the fog with their son, Porter, on Wednesday on the North Shore. The family is from Ligonier and looking to make a move to Pittsburgh. Rain and fog lingered for much of the day. Story on
Moisture from the rain combined with warm air Wednesday to create a dense fog throughout the Pittsburgh region, transforming the landscape into what looked like a scene from a science-fiction movie.
The fog hovered over the city’s three rivers much of the day, enveloping the Downtown skyline and shrouding swaths of Mount Washington.
Although the sight may have been mesmerizing, it came with its own hazards.
“You definitely want to use caution when driving,” said Myranda Fullerton, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
The fog that formed when moisture from a storm combined with temperatures in the 50s significantly cut visibility. Ms. Fullerton said that on a clear day, visibility — a measure of the distance at which an object or light can be clearly discerned — is about 10 miles. On Wednesday, visibility was only a quarter- to a half-mile.
Fog wasn’t the only side effect of the rain that passed through southwestern Pennsylvania on Wednesday. Rainfall totaled a quarter to three-quarters of an inch, raising concerns of flooding as up to another inch of rain is expected Thursday, when the temperature is forecast to be in the mid-60s.
That prospect prompted the Pittsburgh Parking Authority to ban parking Thursday along the lower planter wall of the Mon Wharf. The wharf will be completely closed Friday because of a flood advisory already issued for that day.
The combined accumulation from Wednesday and Thursday is expected to push river levels near Point State Park to about 20 feet by Saturday afternoon, according to the weather service.
That’s about 5 feet shy of flood stage but still enough to swamp the Mon Wharf, which floods at 19.5 feet.