Pittsburgh to Get Sandy's Cold Shoulder

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

October 26,2012; 6:10PM,EDT

The worst impacts from Sandy will stay east of Pittsburgh and the western slopes of the Appalachians into the Ohio Valley. However, there will be some impact.
Folks making airline connections to the East Coast, especially from Washington, D.C. to New York City and Boston may experience storm-related delays, especially Monday and Tuesday.
A cold front will affect the region Saturday into Sunday with clouds, rain and a trend toward cooler conditions.
During the period from Sunday night into Tuesday, additional rounds of rain are in store as Sandy moves inland over the mid-Atlantic and lingers.
Significant rainfall is forecast, but in most cases this should not be enough to cause large stream or river flooding. Urban and small stream flooding is possible due largely to the terrain in the region and fallen leaves potentially blocking storm drains.

More significant rainfall and a greater risk of flash flooding exists east of the Allegheny Front, closer to the source of tropical moisture from Sandy.
Winds from the fringe of Sandy can and will probably reach this far west. Especially so when an upper level system joins in from the west, causing winds to line up at the surface and aloft Monday night, Tuesday, perhaps into Wednesday.
Gusts between 50 and 60 mph are possible over the ridges of the mountains, but gusts between 40 and 50 mph seem to be top end on the west slopes of the Appalachians.
With these wind speeds, some sporadic downed trees and power outages are possible.
As for snow, there is the potential for accumulating snow in elevations above 2,500 feet spanning Monday night into Wednesday.

A couple of snow showers, mixed with rain are possible in the lower elevations Spanning Tuesday into Wednesday.