Pittsburgh/Western PA Summer 2022 Discussion

[Ahoff]

1pm temp is 88.  4 degrees warmer than yesterday at this time.  Barring any storms, we should make it to 90.

[TimB]

41 minutes ago, Ahoff said:

1pm temp is 88.  4 degrees warmer than yesterday at this time.  Barring any storms, we should make it to 90.

And indeed, the 1:30 obs was 91. 3rd 90 of the season.

[Ahoff]

28 minutes ago, TimB said:

And indeed, the 1:30 obs was 91. 3rd 90 of the season.

Heat Index of 99 also, maybe should have had a heat advisory, as it may still reach that 100 mark.

Edit: in an off hour it hit 92.  Tied for the warmest day so far.

 

Also, a wild gradient is set up.  90s here, and 68 in Philly.  Not something you see everyday.

[Ahoff]

HRRR may end up kind of close.  My weather app shows downtown at 95 right now.  93 at the airport.

[TheClimateChanger]

1 hour ago, Ahoff said:

Heat Index of 99 also, maybe should have had a heat advisory, as it may still reach that 100 mark.

Edit: in an off hour it hit 92.  Tied for the warmest day so far.

 

Also, a wild gradient is set up.  90s here, and 68 in Philly.  Not something you see everyday.

It's a little bizarre really. The heat index at Youngstown is up to 105F, which is the highest heat index on record at that location in the month of June - surpassing the record of 104F set just last week. And there's not even a special weather statement, or mention in the hazardous weather outlook, let alone a heat advisory? It's difficult enough to realize heat advisory conditions around here.

Source for record heat index (dating to 1947): https://www.wkbn.com/weather/heat-index-wednesday-hottest-in-at-least-75-years-in-june/

Current heat index is 105F (93F/75F temp/DP): https://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KYNG.html

[TheClimateChanger]

The ever a few degrees too hot sensor at Beaver County Airport in Chippewa Township is up to 96F. 

https://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KBVI.html

[TheClimateChanger]

Just heard a rumble of thunder here. Looks like we are going to get some much needed relief from the heat.

[Ahoff]

15 minutes ago, TheClimateChanger said:

The ever a few degrees too hot sensor at Beaver County Airport in Chippewa Township is up to 96F. 

https://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KBVI.html

Oddly, I feel like KPIT's is too low, lol.

[Ahoff]

21 minutes ago, TheClimateChanger said:

It's a little bizarre really. The heat index at Youngstown is up to 105F, which is the highest heat index on record at that location in the month of June - surpassing the record of 104F set just last week. And there's not even a special weather statement, or mention in the hazardous weather outlook, let alone a heat advisory? It's difficult enough to realize heat advisory conditions around here.

Source for record heat index (dating to 1947): https://www.wkbn.com/weather/heat-index-wednesday-hottest-in-at-least-75-years-in-june/

Current heat index is 105F (93F/75F temp/DP): https://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KYNG.html

Any sources for heat indices in Pittsburgh?  I've looked but can't seem to find historical data.  It'd be interesting to know how hot it's felt here in the past.  I'm particularly interested in know heat indices during the 2012 heat wave.

[TheClimateChanger]

I went to the website cited in that article and generated this for KPIT. It uses available hourly data for the temp and dew point to generate a heat index. Extends back to 1945. According to this, since 1945, the maximum hourly heat index at PIT was 106F observed at 2 PM on June 27, 1978. Last week's heat wave tied the highest recorded heat indices for any June day (dating to 1945) for the 8 PM hour (96F) and 10 PM hour (91F). Keep in mind since this is based solely on hourly data, there could be a higher intra-hour reading.

Here's the link: https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/plotting/auto/?_wait=no&q=153&network=PA_ASOS&zstation=PIT&month=jun&var=max_feel&_r=t&dpi=100&_fmt=png

[MikeB_01]

I went to the website cited in that article and generated this for KPIT. It uses available hourly data for the temp and dew point to generate a heat index. Extends back to 1945. According to this, since 1945, the maximum hourly heat index at PIT was 106F observed at 2 PM on June 27, 1978. Last week's heat wave tied the highest recorded heat indices for any June day (dating to 1945) for the 8 PM hour (96F) and 10 PM hour (91F). Keep in mind since this is based solely on hourly data, there could be a higher intra-hour reading.
Here's the link: https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/plotting/auto/?_wait=no&q=153&network=PA_ASOS&zstation=PIT&month=jun&var=max_feel&_r=t&dpi=100&_fmt=png

This is such a good website for data. I can never figure out how to work it. Thanks for the data


.

[KPITSnow]

25 minutes ago, MikeB_01 said:

This is such a good website for data. I can never figure out how to work it. Thanks for the data


.

I just looked up June 29th 2012 and what a miserable day. Low was 82, and high was 99. 

[Ahoff]

Looks like the highest heat index we ever reached was 114 degrees, and that was July 15, 1995...the last time we hit 100.

 

Conversely the lowest wind chill of all time was -47 degrees in January 1985, lol.

[TimB]

Official high of 94 today. Let’s hope that stays the hottest day of the summer.

[TheClimateChanger]

High was 94 at 2:59, low was 71 exactly one hour later.

[Ahoff]

Wow.  HRRR was right on the money.

Probably the first 94 degree reading in June since 2012.

[TheClimateChanger]

17 hours ago, Ahoff said:

Oddly, I feel like KPIT's is too low, lol.

I don't know. It is a little weird. I saw Bradford (2106' feet near the NY border) was 93 degrees yesterday. That was the highest June temperature ever recorded at the airport, dating to 1958. Actually beat the record of 90 set just last by three degrees. Just goes to show how hot it was aloft yesterday. I saw some of the models had H85 temps up to 23C yesterday.

[RitualOfTheTrout]

How did everyone fair with the storms yesterday? I was in Wexford and it was pretty mild, but at home I got blasted. Tree limbs everywhere, power outage, fence was crushed by a tree in one section, garbage cans with trash bags in them blown over and the bags blown out. I’m not far from that BP that had the gas pump blown over. Must have been a microburst or something.

[Ahoff]

49 minutes ago, RitualOfTheTrout said:

How did everyone fair with the storms yesterday? I was in Wexford and it was pretty mild, but at home I got blasted. Tree limbs everywhere, power outage, fence was crushed by a tree in one section, garbage cans with trash bags in them blown over and the bags blown out. I’m not far from that BP that had the gas pump blown over. Must have been a microburst or something.

Didn't even know they went through, lol.  At one point I looked up and thought oh it's raining.

[TheClimateChanger]

1 hour ago, RitualOfTheTrout said:

How did everyone fair with the storms yesterday? I was in Wexford and it was pretty mild, but at home I got blasted. Tree limbs everywhere, power outage, fence was crushed by a tree in one section, garbage cans with trash bags in them blown over and the bags blown out. I’m not far from that BP that had the gas pump blown over. Must have been a microburst or something.

Wasn't too bad IMBY. The (empty) garbage cans did blow around a bit, but I didn’t see any tree limbs down or anything like. It did rain quite heavily for a time, which was somewhat needed as the heat and sun had dried things out a lot (and it looks like rain is going to be limited for the next week or so).

[Rd9108]

So where I was up in Butler County just north of Mars we got hammered for like 30 minutes. We were standing on the 9th tee about to tee off and all of the sudden it dropped 20 degrees and the wind started gusting hard. We didn't finish the hole and waited in the cart barn until it blew over. There was a lot of lightning and our dumbasses figured that since the rain slowed down we should finish the hole. As I hit my 3rd shot 50 yards out on to the green a huge lightning bolt easily 100 yards in front of us. My butt puckered and I refused to go back out there for atleast 30 minutes. 

[jwilson]

What's with the security bubble over Allegheny county recently?  The storms keep dodging us to the north and south.  

[TimB]

Was looking at records to see if we had a shot at a record low tomorrow morning. We don’t, but interesting to note that that the record low of 47 was set in 1988, along with a low of 46 just two days later. We know what came both before and after those chilly mornings.

[TimB]

Looks like we’re going to finish June basically average for temps. We’re at +0.2 and today should be roughly normal with a low about a half dozen degrees BN and a high about a half dozen degrees AN, so should stay +0.2.

[Ahoff]

I don't see how we make it to 87 today, but we'll see.

[TheClimateChanger]

10 minutes ago, Ahoff said:

I don't see how we make it to 87 today, but we'll see.

Not sure we will. Most recent run of the HRRR only gets us to around 83F or 84F as it shows cloudiness lingering well into the afternoon. Earlier runs were showing upper 80s but had skies clearing sooner.

[Ahoff]

Does anyone see the potential for 90s the week of 18th?  Our parish festival is that week, and if there's one week I don't want 90s it's that one.  The extended is looking toasty so far.

[TheClimateChanger]

On 7/9/2022 at 6:25 PM, Ahoff said:

Does anyone see the potential for 90s the week of 18th?  Our parish festival is that week, and if there's one week I don't want 90s it's that one.  The extended is looking toasty so far.

Yes, looks like it will be a toasty week. I guess it might depend on convection. Could see more rain chances as the ridge builds closer. On another note, actually surprised its 2.1 degrees above normal this month so far. Hasn't seemed too hot... I guess the lower humidity has helped. The mean temperature so far has been 75.0F, and that may come a bit if we do get some of the bigger heat next week.

Still quite a bit milder than two years ago, when the mean temperature was 77.3F - which was the hottest July since records have been kept at the airport locations (station thread moved to AGC in July 1935 and PIT in September 1952) and the second hottest month at either airport site behind August 1995 (77.7F). It was the hottest July in the entire station thread since July 1934 (77.7F), when records were still kept at the weather service office in the city. I didn't realize that July 2020 was that anomalous.

[Ahoff]

1 hour ago, TheClimateChanger said:

Yes, looks like it will be a toasty week. I guess it might depend on convection. Could see more rain chances as the ridge builds closer. On another note, actually surprised its 2.1 degrees above normal this month so far. Hasn't seemed too hot... I guess the lower humidity has helped. The mean temperature so far has been 75.0F, and that may come a bit if we do get some of the bigger heat next week.

Still quite a bit milder than two years ago, when the mean temperature was 77.3F - which was the hottest July since records have been kept at the airport locations (station thread moved to AGC in July 1935 and PIT in September 1952) and the second hottest month at either airport site behind August 1995 (77.7F). It was the hottest July in the entire station thread since July 1934 (77.7F), when records were still kept at the weather service office in the city. I didn't realize that July 2020 was that anomalous.

There was an eight day stretch early in July 2020 where each day hit at least 90, so it was a hot start.

 

The 00z Euro showed next Wednesday at around 98 at the airport, so that's what these models are throwing out, we'll see where they settle.

[TimB]

22 minutes ago, Ahoff said:

There was an eight day stretch early in July 2020 where each day hit at least 90, so it was a hot start.

 

The 00z Euro showed next Wednesday at around 98 at the airport, so that's what these models are throwing out, we'll see where they settle.

Trend seems to be toward mostly garden variety heat, but I wouldn’t rule out a day or two of big heat (95+) mid to late next week if everything lines up right.