It's beginning to look a lot like...
Winter.
It may be a week-plus change away from the official start of the year's fourth season, but you wouldn't be able to tell it from looking out your window, let alone stepping out your door.
"We're going to be struggling to get to out of the 20s until Sunday," said meteorologist Fred McMullen of the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
Not only is the region coping with temperatures in the low 20s throughout Wednesday — with wind chill values below zero — another round of snow will be falling hard and fast starting at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Mr. McMullen, full of holiday cheer, hastened to add that the snow event will be a "quick-hitter" that won't drop more than a coating of 3 to 4 inches.
He said the Pittsburgh metro area, between 5 and 7 p.m., will experience a six- to eight-hour period of snowfall, laying a blanket of white across of the region. That blanket will be a bit thicker the farther north and east of the city.
"North of Evans City, there could be 4 to 6 inches. Toward Ligonier and the Laurel ridges, upwards of 3 to 5 inches," he said.
A winter weather advisory has been issued for Allegheny, Butler, Beaver, Armstrong counties north to Erie and for the higher elevations in Westmoreland County, from 4 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday morning.
It'll all taper off between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Thursday, Mr. McMullen said. The advisory is in effect until 7 a.m. Thursday.
Alberta clipper storms packing snow and arctic air will continue to roll across parts of the midwestern and northeastern US this week: https://t.co/LXfQ2TOCGU pic.twitter.com/iqhIQeJ7bv
— AccuWeather (@breakingweather) December 13, 2017
In anticipation of the snow, Pittsburgh Public Schools has canceled afternoon after-school activities for Wednesday.
Until about 5 p.m. or so Wednesday, the region will be embraced by clouds and cold. "The best we can do in terms of temperature will be 25," Mr. McMullen said. The low Wednesday night will be about 21 degrees. The high Thursday will be 28 degrees.
If you're one for warmth, look to Sunday when the high will be near 41 degrees.
On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh metro region got about an inch of snow, with that number climbing in neighborhoods outside the city. The snowfall caused multiple accidents, including a fatal crash on the Shippingport Bridge.
At the Weather Service’s office in Moon, “we measured 2.6 inches," Mr. McMullen said.
Karen Kane: kkane@post-gazette.com or at 724-772-9180.
First Published: December 13, 2017, 12:46 p.m.
Updated: December 13, 2017, 9:11 p.m.