Latest news with #KDKA
CBS News
a day ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Northern lights could be visible throughout parts of western Pennsylvania on Monday night
Northern lights could be visible throughout parts of western Pennsylvania on Monday night Northern lights could be visible throughout parts of western Pennsylvania on Monday night Northern lights could be visible throughout parts of western Pennsylvania on Monday night The aurora borealis will take to the skies again across Pennsylvania Monday night. From inside the KDKA-TV studios, meteorologist Ron Smiley tackles a busy day forecasting, hosting, and hopefully crossing off a life goal. "I've never gotten to see them," said Smiley, talking about the northern lights. "I've tried a couple of times, I've never gotten to it, so it's still on my bucket list of things to do." However, Smiley knows exactly what to do to increase the chances of seeing the northern lights in person and how it works. "What it boils down to is electrons slamming into our atmosphere, our magnetic field. That creates the light," said Smiley. It's like a neon light on a grander scale. When is the best time to see the northern lights? "It's really hard to time out these ejections of gas or plasma that's heading our way at thousands of miles per hour," said Smiley. The darkest hours bring the best luck, generally after 10 p.m. and before 5 a.m., but your location also matters. To best see the aurora borealis, move away from the city lights. You can even use the camera on your phone to scan the sky and see the colors even better. "(The) best chance by far is going to be off to our north," Smiley said. "But if we have a storm that's more active than what we would normally be expecting to see, then that means our skies are going to light up as well," said Smiley. We saw that a couple of times last year, but this year we've got smoke from wildfires in Canada. That smoke is causing hazy conditions. It's supposed to thicken up overnight. "It could actually make it even better viewing for us to see it by ourselves," said Smiley. He also recommends searching for a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast. It shows a 20-30-minute window to help you catch this bucket list moment. "We know overnight we'll have a chance, but once you see that 20-30-minute window light up and they're saying, 'Hey, it's going to come,' that's when you know you have a good shot," Smiley said.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Pittsburgh's temperatures will warm up this week with wildfire smoke likely
Yesterday's highs struggled to make it out of the 50s for most of Western Pa. WEATHER LINKS: Current Conditions | School Closings & Delays | Submit Your Weather Photos This morning, June begins with an unseasonably chilly air mass across the region, with temperatures hovering in the upper 30s to mid-40s for most locations. The strongest cold air advection following yesterday's frontal passage has weakened. This, along with some more sun, will allow highs to easily reach the low to mid-60s for most today, which is still several degrees below normal. High temperatures on June 1, 2025 KDKA Weather Center As high pressure settles in tonight, skies will clear and temperatures will once again drop into the low 40s for most, with a few spots possibly in the upper 30s for Monday morning. There is an increasing potential for the Northern Lights to be viewed in our area after sunset through sunrise tomorrow due to a strong geomagnetic storm and its associated solar wind energizing particles in Earth's thermosphere. How you can potentially see the Northern Lights in the Pittsburgh on Sunday night into Monday morning. KDKA Weather Center As always, there is high uncertainty in the timing of when the northern lights will be most viewable, but those interested should keep an eye out between sunset tonight and Monday morning, and possibly again Monday night into Tuesday morning if the solar storm continues long enough. Skies should be free of clouds, and wildfire smoke should be out of the air, promoting optimal viewing. It will be cool as well with temperatures quickly dropping into the 50s and 40s after sunset. Low temperatures on Sunday night KDKA Weather Center Speaking of wildfire smoke, we will be watching a mass of Canadian wildfire smoke that has been in place across the Upper Midwest to slowly migrate eastward by Monday into Tuesday. This will leave a large part of our area with hazy skies Monday, Tuesday, and possibly Wednesday. How the wildfire smoke will impact our area KDKA Weather Center As of now, it appears that the smoke should remain aloft in the atmosphere on Monday, but sinking air Monday night into Tuesday could allow for some smoke to mix down to the surface, creating air quality issues. Outside of the smoke, temperatures will warm back to well above normal levels through the middle part of the week, although the smoke could mute how high temperatures could theoretically reach. Mid to upper 80s are likely on Wednesday and Thursday. A series of disturbances and a slow-moving frontal boundary will bring a chance of showers and storms beginning in Northwest Pa., on Thursday. Rain chances over the next week KDKA Weather Center The better chance of rain and storms looks to be on Friday as the front moves across our area. Right now, this doesn't appear to be a classic severe weather setup, but we are in peak season, so this does bear watching. 7-day forecast: June 1, 2025 KDKA Weather Center Stay up to date with the KDKA Mobile App – which you can download here!
CBS News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
A breezy and cooler Saturday ahead of warmer temperatures in Pittsburgh, but wildfire smoke looms
The steady moderate to heavy rain from Friday has departed the region this morning, but skies will remain mostly cloudy today with breezy conditions and lingering rain showers. WEATHER LINKS: Current Conditions | School Closings & Delays | Submit Your Weather Photos Most areas north of Pittsburgh received around 0.25" or less over the last 24 hours; the Pittsburgh airport received 0.60", and the highest totals, as anticipated, occurred across our southern zones, with places like Morgantown receiving over 2". High temperatures and rain chances on Saturday KDKA Weather Center There will be some scattered lingering rain showers today through noon-1 p.m. Strong northwesterly winds will advect unseasonably cool air into the region. This will prevent daytime highs from reaching 60 in many spots, which is around 15 degrees or so below normal. The highest wind gusts could achieve 30mph in the afternoon and evening, so it won't necessarily be the nicest of late spring days. By Saturday night into Sunday, skies will slowly begin to clear, and winds will lighten up. Low temperatures on Saturday night KDKA Weather Center Most folks will see low to mid-40s for lows on Sunday with highs in the mid-60s by Sunday afternoon. A stray is possible during the midday to early afternoon hours in our northeast counties; otherwise, expect a partly cloudy sky and continued steady breeze out of the west around 10-15mph. Skies will clear Sunday night into Monday, and high pressure should leave us with several days of dry a nice weather to start next week. Lows will be in the mid-40s Monday morning before warming temperatures take hold for the middle portion of the week. We will be watching a mass of Canadian wildfire smoke that has been in place across the Upper Midwest to slowly migrate eastward by Monday into Tuesday. This could leave part of the region with smoky/hazy conditions. Looking ahead to potential wildfire smoke in our region early next week KDKA Weather Center At the moment, it is too soon to determine air quality impacts, but this is something we will watch. Temperatures will soar well into the 80s, and higher dewpoints will also move in. This will lead us into a more unsettled pattern between June 4-11 timeframe with the potential for storms and warmer air. 7-day forecast: May 31, 2025 KDKA Weather Center Stay up to date with the KDKA Mobile App – which you can download here!
CBS News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Wet Your Whistle Wednesday on Talk Pittsburgh
Heather Lang is a senior web producer for CBS Pittsburgh who has been with the KDKA team since 2007.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
40 years ago, a tornado outbreak killed 75 people in Pennsylvania
It's been 40 years since western Pennsylvania endured one of the worst tornado outbreaks ever to hit the area. On May 31, 1985, over the span of nine hours, more than 40 tornadoes touched down in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, Canada. Half of those tornadoes hit western Pennsylvania. The worst included four F-3 tornadoes, including one that tracked 39 miles through Beaver and Butler counties. Four F-4 tornadoes hit Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer and Venango counties. And the strongest and deadliest tornado of the outbreak was an F-5 that tracked from Ravenna, Ohio, 47 miles to Wheatland in Mercer County. Eighty-nine people were killed in the outbreak, with 75 of those lives lost in Pennsylvania. More than 1,000 people were hurt. The tornadoes caused $600 million in damage. How did the 1985 tornado outbreak happen? An unseasonably hot and humid air mass flowed northeast from the south during the morning and midday hours of May 31, 1985. This fuel was able to keep building through the afternoon because of a strong cap or lid of warm and dry air in the middle of the atmosphere. By early evening, the cap ferociously broke open as a strong cold front and jet stream winds moved in from the west, resulting in rotating storms that produced dozens of strong to violent tornadoes. To mark 40 years since that devastating outbreak, KDKA First Alert Meteorologist Trey Fulbright put together a series of stories as a way to remember the victims, the survivors and the resilience of so many local communities. You can watch the full video in the player above.
