This year marked the second consecutive Memorial Day where Western Pennsylvanians have roasted, with hotter-than-average temperatures expected to hang around until the end of the week, according to the National Weather Service.
“We’ve got this area of high pressure, basically right over us,” said meteorologist John Darnley. “It’s creating a little bit of an inversion from the surface up above us, and that’s blocking any cooler air from invecting in.”
The high reached 88 on Tuesday, the hottest day of the month, according to NWS data.
Monday’s recorded high of 86 was 13 degrees above normal for this time of year. It topped last Memorial Day’s high of 84.
An elongated area of low pressure stretching from Louisiana to Minnesota is keeping cooler weather from making its way into the region.
“It’s sort of a blocking pattern that’s allowing for high pressure to just kind of sit there,” Darnley said.
Temperatures are forecast to remain in the 80s, but rain is expected Wednesday night, with daily highs tapering off to 80 on Friday and down into the low 70s on Saturday.
