Heat warning extended for Pittsburgh; air quality warning issued

PITTSBURGH, PA — As southwest Pennsylvania experiences another day of near-record temperatures, air quality in the region is deteriorating.

The National Weather Service has extended the heat warning issued on Tuesday from 8 p.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Saturday. An air quality warning is also in effect for Thursday.

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First, the heat wave: Expect more of the same. The high today and Friday will be 94 degrees and is expected to rise to 96 degrees on Saturday.

If you’re tired of this trend, the weather service says there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Rain and a cold front on Sunday will cool temperatures back down to just above normal by Monday.

Unfortunately, the weather service is warning of another “tunnel” next week, during which temperatures will rise above 30 degrees again.

Now the air quality warning.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued an orange air quality warning for Thursday, covering the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Armstrong, Washington, Westmoreland and Fayette counties.

An orange air quality warning means that the concentration of air pollution in the area may be harmful to sensitive groups such as children, the elderly and people with asthma, heart or other lung diseases.

There is also a slight chance of severe thunderstorms developing today, although the weather service says the main danger is north of Pittsburgh.